On the right side
by Secret Murderer
Summary: There are two sides: there is Good and there is Evil; and you can only truly decide where you belong after you’ve seen both of them. But as the RRB are starting to learn about the Good side, HIM is desperately trying to destroy the girls once and for all
1. The Dream

Hello to you all! As you can see, I am back with another fanfic! Bah! I hate this stupid formal talking! I was not made for this!

I just got this idea yesterday night and here it is!

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina. I love you guys!

Special thanks to Nevis the Tiger Godess and to CamillaMB who reviewed my first story! You're the best!

**Note:** The Power Puff Girls and the Rowdy Ruff Boys are 8 years old.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Power Puff Girls. If I did, Blossom won't be wearing that stupid hair bow.

O.K. I'm done with the talking. On with the story!

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**On the right side**

Chapter 1:The dream

They all sat in bed. Their bodies still ached. Bubbles changed her position, to look at the Professor who had just walked into the room, and hit (by accident) Buttercup's arm.

"Ow! Bubbles watch it!" she snapped at her sister.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!" the blonde said.

"Now Buttercup, I know that it hurts but you don't need to be mean to your sister." The Professor said.

Buttercup sighted and turned her head. Green eyes meet pink ones. She was expecting a look that said something like: "Will you ever stop?" or "Grow up!". But no, the look in Blossom's eyes said something more like: "I know what you're feeling." She smiled; at least she had an ally.

"Buttercup, are you listening?" The Professor's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Huh? What were you saying?" The Green Puff asked. The Professor gave her the look he usually gave her when she got a bad mark or did God knows what thing he didn't like. She immediately regretted her question.

"Professor, can we go to sleep? We're really tired." The Pink Puff said. Yes, Buttercup certainly had an ally.

"Of course dear." the Professor replied "You deserve it after such a battle".

"Yeah! Hell, those Rowdy Ruff Boys are getting stronger and stronger every time we fight them!" Buttercup said. Bubbles focused her attention on her sister and the Professor nodded.

Blossom just stared at the ceiling. "I wonder why...", everyone turned their eyes to her. "I mean, when HIM brought them back they put up a really good fight. After that they started to grow weaker. And now, suddenly, they became more powerful than ever." She paused and closed her eyes "If they had this kind of power they would've used it from the start" the red-head finished.

"But what if HIM only gave them the power now?" Bubbles said.

"Yeah! He probably found the spell recently" Buttercup said.

"I doubt." The girls turned to look at their father. He continued: "I'm no expert in HIM's way of thinking but I know that he wouldn't let anyone, not even his 'sons', have more power than he does. And he would definitely not help someone become stronger than him."

"You're right! He wants to destroy us but he wants to be (imitating HIMs feminine voice) 'the most powerful in the world' (back to her normal voice) too" the brunette said in what was supposed to be a convincing tone but she was too tired. She yawned.

The Professor saw this and smiled. "O.K. we'll think about this in the morning now you should sleep!"

He pulled the covers over the girls and kissed the three of them on the forehead. Then he walked out the room switching off the lights. The Blue and Green Puffs fell asleep very fast but the Pink Puff stood awake a little longer, thinking about the conversation they had just had. Two parts remained in her mind: "he wants to be the most powerful in the world" and "he wouldn't let anyone, not even his 'sons', have more power than him".

"Oh but he would" she thought "if he knew that he will still be the one who controls everything. And for that he needs 1. Control over their minds, if they have any…" she smiled at herself but pushed away the last words "or 2. Something to frighten or eliminate them with, if they found out the truth" She fell asleep with these thoughts, wondering "Why do I care?".

In another part of the city someone was watching the three girls. "Yes girls, yes... sleep tight…" said HIM's feminine voice "you won't get away from the boys. Not even (evil voice) in your dreams!" In that moment the Rowdy Ruff Boys entered the dark room.

"Ya' wanted to see us?" Boomer asked, not really interested in the answer.

"Why yes my boys! I have a little game for you" HIM said in his feminine voice.

"Wha' kind of game?" Butch said smiling at the idea.

"Well I'll get you in the Power Puff Girls' minds and you will be able to hunt them in their dreams" HIM explained.

"Score!" the three boys shouted.

"Step in" HIM said pointing at three weird looking portals. The three of them looked at the portals with an evil grin.

"Let the game begin" Brick whispered to himself. The boys zoomed through the portals: Boomer in the blue one, Butch in the green one and Brick in the pink one.

"Hurry up and destroy the Power Pests because you don't have to much time left boys" HIM said smirking. He turned his gaze from the portals in which the Ruffs disappeared moments ago to a circular crystal that had something black in it, which looked like it was growing. It had almost covered the whole crystal. "Not much time at all." He said and than he let out a maniac laugh.

Back at the Utonium household the girls aren't really enjoying their sleep...

_She was in some kind of crystal forest. Everything was so big and the moon__'s light made every little thing shine like a million stars had fallen there. She was amazed by what she was seeing. She approached a little river that peacefully ran between the crystal trees. She saw her reflection in the clear water. She smiled at it. But her smile faded when she saw something else there. She gasped when she realized who it was. She turned around to find herself only inches away from him._

"_Missed me?" he asked with a smirk on his face. She couldn't answer. She had a frightened look on her face __and had trouble resisting the urge to bite her lip. She stared into eyes only a few shades darker than her own, but without a doubt a lot colder. The mischievous glint inside them didn't help her calm down either, though it did look cute on him. "Wait! Rewind! 'CUTE!?!' Where did that come from?!?!" She blinked realizing that there were only one or two inches between them now. She flew away so fast that he almost lost his balance. He looked up to see her twenty feet above him._

"_What are you doing here?" she shouted. He flew towards her and stopped when they were in front of each other. "What? Aren't you happy to see me?" he said in a sweet voice, giving her a grin. She glared at him. "Too bad!" he said in the same voice, this time pretending he w__as hurt. Suddenly his grin disappeared and he kicked her hard in the stomach, sending her flying into tree. "Owww" she slowly opened her eyes to see him flying in her direction at top speed. She gasped and moved away as fast as she could. She escaped his punch in the last moment._

_He kept throwing kicks and punches at her. She could hardly dodge or block half of them. __She was getting tired and he hadn't even begun to sweat. She sighed. She couldn't beat him. He was stronger than ever and she couldn't get herself to reach even half of her potential. She was angry because of this but there was no sense in fighting him like that. It was fighting a lost battle. She gathered all the power she had left ant kicked him in the chest, hard. He was taken by surprise and was sent flying to the ground. She stared a few moments at the place where he fell and then flew away as fast as her wounded body could take her._

_She knew that kick won't hold him down too long. In fact she doubted that he would stay there more than two minutes. But she didn't have any o__ther choice. She couldn't win that kind of battle. She needed a better plan. She had to get out of there. But how? She didn't even know where she was. She cursed under her breath. Her body hurt so bad... She wanted to stop but she couldn't. If he found her he would..._

_She felt a strong hand grabbing her joint. She start__led. It was him. She knew it was him. Fear ran through her body. He'd kill her. She didn't have even one shade of a chance to get out of there alive. She turned around very fast, she had to get this over with, to find out that he was closer to her than she had expected. Their lips met. And to their surprise neither of them did anything to break the kiss._

"_This is wrong" they both thought but the sensation was so good. They felt like they were in H__eaven. They didn't want to ever break apart. No such luck! The sky became blood red and the crystal forest became black. A terrible storm started. They could barely hear their own thoughts because of all the noise. Then an evil voice spoke so loud it matched the storm itself: "How dare you do this! With her among all? You have one last chance! Do not fail me!"_

_He looked in her eyes. She could see what__ was running across his face: fear, regret, sadness. She was afraid but not for herself... she was scared for him. She gazed at him. There was still sadness in his eyes but his face turned into a frown. He lifted hid hand and he hit her as hard as he could. She fell to the ground unconscious._

The Power Puff Girls woke up with a quiet "Ah". They gazed around the room and then at each other. They stood like this for a few minutes than they said in the same time: "I had the strangest and freakiest dream about that Rowdy Ruff!". They stared at each other some time and then they talked about their dreams that were, as they realized, almost identical. But all three of them kept the fact that they kissed their counterparts (and liked it) to themselves. It was their little secret, kept from each other. They continued to wonder why they actually liked the kiss.

The same question was in the Rowdy Ruff Boys' minds. They got out of the portals a bit dazed and very confused. Before they could think of anything HIM's feminine voice filled their ears: "Well boys since you didn't destroy the girls in their dreams..." the boys looked at each other a little worried about what he'll say next and they turned back to HIM "you'll fight them tomorrow and you'll give your best to win". They tried to protest because they were really tired from fighting the girls all most non stop for the past few days. However, HIM's evil voice filled their minds: "Dare do what you did back there and you'll really have problems!". They all heard this message but none of them knew that the others did too. They didn't say anything more. They just gave a nod and left thinking of the girls they had to kill... the ones in the dream.

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That was chapter one! I hope you liked it!

Sorry again if I misspelled anything!

See you in the next chapter!


	2. Reflecting

Hello everyone! This chapter isn't as good as the last one, in my opinion that is, but I just felt like doing it, so here it is.

This story is dedicated to my lovely cousins Mara and Irina (yrynna).

Thanks yrynna, Konfused Kitty, CamillaMB and Hairy Gregory for reviewing my last chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Puff Girls. If I did Bubbles would be the one in pink, not Blossom!

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**On the right side**

Chapter 2: Reflecting

The girls couldn't go to sleep after that dream. They decided not to tell the Professor unless it proved to be something very important. And it wasn't that serious, right? It was just a dream, a nightmare. A nightmare that scared them to death, but above all it confused them more than anything.

"We don't need to worry him with a silly dream" Blossom said. In fact she really wanted to talk with someone about this, but she was a little afraid of what the Professor would say if she told him everything. She kept the part that puzzled her the most to herself.

"Dreams are desires or fears of the one who's dreaming. I'm not afraid of doing that, not even with him. Does that mean that I want it to happen? Or is this a sign? Does this mean something?". Questions like these were permanently on Blossom's mind. She just couldn't understand. She had to tell someone, but this wasn't something easy. The leader of the Power Puff Girls dreaming of kissing the leader of the Rowdy Ruff Boys isn't something that you could call even a little bit normal.

The whole night, those things haunted the Pink Puff's head. After a while she began to think that by having that dream she literally betrayed her family, her duty, everything.

"No! Blossom, stop thinking ridiculous things! It's not your fault that you had this stupid, idiotic dream! So stop going insane because of it!" she said in her mind. She closed her eyes, trying to relax but instead of the usual darkness, his face popped in her head. "No! NO! NO! STOP IT!" she shouted to her mind. "I need to calm down!" she thought looking around the room. She saw herself kissing him. "God please take me now!" she silently pleaded, while looking at the ceiling. "No, forget what I said! I need some cold water!" she thought jumping out of bed and running to the bathroom.

Buttercup saw her sister and stood up ready to go after her but when she heard the bathroom door closing she sat down again.

She looked at the ceiling thinking about the dream, about what had been happening in the last days and about what the Professor, her sisters and she had talked the night before. Everything was so weird. She was used to solve all problems with a good kick. But when it came to the Ruffs it wasn't that easy. With them, they always needed a good strategy and sometimes even a plan B. She sighed. She didn't want to think about the boys. "Well if I can't sleep I might as well eat something" she said to herself and walked towards the kitchen.

Bubbles turned her head to her brunette sister and remained with her gaze fixed on the door long after she disappeared. She had a little smile on her face. She touched her lips with her fingers. "It was more than a dream." she whispered. She closed her eyes thinking about what happened. "It wasn't just a dream." She said again. She smiled more, thinking of the sensation of his lips on hers. She could still feel it. "Who could've guessed he had so soft lips" she said out loud.

"Who has 'so soft lips' Bubbles?" said a voice. The blonde started opening her eyes to see her red-headed sister standing in front of her. "She heard me?" the Blue Puff thought. "Aaaa... well wha-... Octi... that's it Octi! His lips are so soft." Bubbles said. Blossom didn't look very convinced.

BEEEEEP BEEEEP BEEEEP

The Hot Line rang. "Saved by the bell." the blonde thought.

Blossom reached for it and answered "Hello Mayor?... Yes!... Oh no!... Don't worry Mayor! We'll take care of it!" She hanged up.

Buttercup entered the bedroom with some half-eaten toast in her hand. "What's up?" she asked. "The Rowdy Ruff Boys are at it again!" Blossom said. Bubbles stood up immediately and Buttercup threw her bread on the lap of a stuffed bear.

The girls got dressed in a few seconds and flew out the window heading towards Townsville.

Downtown the boys were messing up everything that got in their way. They seemed very distracted. Their minds were far away.

Boomer was absently throwing some cars in the buildings. He wasn't really thinking about what he was doing. No. He was thinking about the girl he had to destroy... the girl that was always so kind and happy... the girl that had made him feel so good last night... when she pressed her lips on his. He didn't know why he was thinking about this. He didn't say anything to his brothers. They would've laughed at him. They would've considered him even stupider that they did now. And then it was HIM too... Not wanting to think about the guy, he recalled for the 100th time that day the moment of the kiss.

Butch was the most concentrated. At least he looked that way. He was furiously smashing everything around. In fact he was trying to get his mind of what happened last night. But as hard as he tried to do something he couldn't. The images just kept coming back. "Come on Butch, you know you liked it" said a little voice in the back of his head. "What? I did not! That stupid girl just turned around and got her mouth on mine!" Butch snapped. "And you kissed her back" said the voice. "Shut the fucking Hell up!" the brunette boy yelled in his head not wanting to admit it.

Brick was just destroying anything that got in his hands. He didn't really care. He couldn't recall the part when he was fighting her. But he could remember when he was only a few inches from her. Her body was so delicate; her hair was falling so beautifully on her shoulders… The thing that he really couldn't forget was the little spark in her eyes. She seemed extremely scared at first, but he could see something else. He could see curiosity. He liked the way she looked. She was so cute. He closed his eyes. He could still feel the sensation of her lips on his. He smiled. He tried to convince himself that he hated all night it but he couldn't. He just accepted the fact that he liked the sensation. But only that. He wasn't going to admit to anyone, not even to himself, that it was anything more... He opened his eyes and saw the girls coming. He smiled at the sight of the Pink Puff, not knowing why.

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Thanks for reading! It was too short, huh?

Sorry for this and sorry if I misspelled anything!


	3. The Other Side

Hey everyone! I finally posted chapter 3. Took me long enough, huh? Well I'm really sorry but I had a very hard time at school and it isn't over yet! *sighs*

This story is dedicated to my most wonderful cousins Mara and Irina (yrynna).

Thank you very, very much SOENergetic, ShadowDog34 and Hairy Gregory for reviewing chapter two!

Sorry if I misspelled anything!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Puff Girls. If I did they wouldn't wear the same dresses all the time!

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**On the right side**

Chapter 3: The other side

The girls reached town to see the boys destroying everything in sight.

Blossom saw Brick smiling and she glared at him. "What is he smiling about?" she thought.

"Well, well, well, look who's here!" the Red Ruff said, his smile becoming an evil smirk.

"The Powder Puff Brats" Butch said looking at the girls. "I was getting bored" he continued.

"Oh you won't be bored anymore! I guaranty it!" Buttercup hissed. Butch smirked.

Boomer was just staring at Bubbles, in a way that looked like he wanted to make sure that the blonde girl in front of him was the one in her dream. And it was her, but she didn't have a scared look on her face. That made him happy in way. He wondered why.

Bubbles felt his eyes on her but she didn't have the courage to face him. She didn't want to see his hate. She knew that it was all she would be able to see in those big blue eyes.

"Girls take your counterparts!" Blossom commanded. She was getting sick of Bricks smirk. The Puffs did exactly as she said.

Buttercup furiously charged at Butch, and he did the same with her. The Green Puff dodged a kick and punched the boy in the jaw sending him backwards a few feet. "Not bad!" he said to himself. In the next second he was slapping himself, wondering "Where did that came from?!?".

The brunette boy threw another kick at the girl and this time he didn't miss. Buttercup was sent flying into a big office building. She growled "Man this hurts!" she said into her mind.

She attacked him again as hard as she could and he did the same. They were moving so fast that all you could see was a bright green light that seemed to be in more places at the same time. They were throwing, blocking and dodging kicks and punches.

After 10 minutes of this super speed battle, Buttercup was sent flying to the ground. Butch went to see what happened and saw her in a big hole in the road, made by her fall. She got up very fast and glared at the Green Ruff.

"How come you're still fighting?" he asked.

"Like I told you the first time we met: it takes more that some little kicks to make me cry." She hissed furiously. He was a bit stunned. He didn't realize that he had said that out loud. Still he was curious.

"Oh really? But goody-goodies start to cry even over a broken nail." He said, a smirk on his face. He was sure that will make her mad. But it didn't. She just glared at him.

"You'd better see the other side before saying idiotic things!" she spat out. Her voice sounded annoyed but she was serious.

Bubbles was trying to hit Boomer but he really knew how to block her. What surprised her was the fact that he didn't attack her. This confused her but then again "He probably can't do it because of my attack". She decided that was the reason. She charged at him and punched him in the face. He was sent flying backwards and landed on a car, destroying it.

The blue-eyed boy got up furious. He flew towards the blonde girl, grabbing her pig-tails and pulling hard. She screamed in pain. She tried to make him free her hair.

"BOOMER! LET GO!" she yelled almost crying. The boy saw this and let her go immediately.

Bubbles fell on the ground next to some trees. She undone her pig-tails and rubbed her hair. Boomer landed a few feet near her.

"Bubbles?" he asked gently. "Go away!" she snapped. She was crying. He could hear her. He felt so guilty about it. "Bubbles... I... I'm... sorry" he said as he kneeled beside her. She turned to face him "What?" she asked confused.

He wiped some tears off her cheeks and smiled. "I said I'm sorry" he said looking in her eyes.

She couldn't believe that he had actually said sorry. "N-No problem" she whispered. They gazed into each other eyes for several minutes.

"Wh-Why are you fighting us?" Bubbles broke the silence. Boomer wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but he already knew.

"Because... everyone says that... we have to destroy you..." he answered.

"And you want to do it?" she asked hopefully.

"Well... I..." he didn't know what to say.

"You don't have to do it if you don't want to" she whispered.

"I... no! I have to! Every villain in this town wants you dead... and I'm a villain..." he said weakly, not very convinced.

"Then... let me show you the other side..." Bubbles said, taking his hand in hers.

Blossom and Brick were putting up what could hardly be called a decent fight. None of them seemed to actually be there but they were throwing punches and kicks at each other. They were, however, only failed attempts.

They weren't seeing or hearing each other. They could just feel themselves there. This way they were sure that they, at least, looked like they were fighting.

Blossom was thinking of the dream. She managed to push back the thoughts of the kiss. Now she was thinking only of him. It was like trying to read a page of a book, that you only saw once, without having it in front of you. She always thought that kind of action was stupid. But there she was, trying to read in his eyes. But they were not the ones that were absently gazing at her now, but the ones that had been looking at her in her dream.

She could only remember few of the times when he looked in her eyes. She recalled the moment when they were so close to each other, when she studied him so closely. His eyes didn't look as evil as usual and for a moment she thought he was surprised by something and even curious. It was then when he started to get closer. Then she realized something. She thought it would've been impossible but then again she didn't know him. Was... was he studying her? Like she studied him...

She closed her eyes, trying to remember. But she opened them the next second because his foot almost hit her in the jaw. She blocked it in the last second. But this didn't stop her from drifting away in her thoughts again.

She remembered that in her dream she managed to steal a quick look from him before she got a kick in the stomach. He looked so determined to destroy her that she couldn't stop herself from asking where that had come from.

She sighed and focused her attention on the last time she had caught his gaze in the dream. It was after the kiss, after that horrible voice spoke, before he knocked her out. In that moment his eyes were like windows that let her look inside his soul. And she saw all kinds of different things... like sadness… He was sad because of something, but at the same time he was happy... then he was confused... like she was. Everything was so confusing. And she saw something else. Something that she couldn't recognize at that moment. But now she could see it clearly. She saw it in different people before. It was that look which said what the person was afraid to say. His eyes said it very clearly: "I'm sorry".

In her mind everything was replaying again and again. She saw his sad face she reached her hand to touch him. She wanted to tell him that everything was O.K. She didn't know why but she wanted to do it.

However, in the real world she put a little too much force in that "touch" and she punched him in the face.

He was sent backwards a few feet. She gasped and forgot that she was fighting him and that he was her enemy.

She flew towards him and asked in a worried tone: "Are you O.K.?".

He looked up to he girl that seemed to be worried about him. He was too confused to answer. Was Blossom, the leader of the Power Puffs, the girl he had tried to destroy so many times, his sworn enemy, actually worried about him!? He gazed into her beautiful pink eyes, unable to say anything.

She gently touched the spot where she hit him. "I'm sorry" she whispered. She wasn't really sure if she was really talking to the boy in front of her or to the one who had kissed her last night in her dreams. She wasn't even sure if they were the same person.

If he was confused before now he really didn't know what to believe anymore. He was trying to see something that said it was just a trick or something like that in her eyes. But those pink orbs held only worry and something else that he couldn't quite place it, but he was sure that it was something good. "Wha- What?" he said in a small, uncharacteristic voice for him.

He blinked, when he heard his voice so weak and mentally slapped himself. He quickly tried to correct his mistake.

"You did this a hundred times 'till now. Why would you be sorry for this little thing?" he said in a cold voice. A part of him yelled at him to beat her up, but he didn't listen. He was too curious.

Blossom was a little hurt by the tone he had used but she realized that she would've said the same thing if he had tried to apologize. "Yeah right! Like he would!" she ironically said in her mind. "At least he isn't trying to rip me apart anymore" she thought.

She looked in his red eyes and remembered all the feelings she saw in them last night. Now he was watching her coldly but she managed to see something else in those bright eyes. She saw that he was curious. And she didn't see the hate that was that they usually held. Something in her mind said that he would listen to her if she tried to say something.

"Everyone deserves a second chance!" Those words popped in her mind. She could recall Ms. Keane telling her that, but she couldn't remember what determined her to do it. She didn't care. She just discovered that she made a terrible mistake. But now she had the chance to do something about it.

She moved her hand from his cheek to his shoulder (**A/N:** she still had her hand on his face). "I'm sorry for all those times... and mainly for..." she said softly taking a deep breath and looking in his eyes "... for not giving you the chance to see the other side" she said in a more determined voice.

Back to Buttercup and Butch.

"What?" Butch said a little confused of the way she reacted.

"Hello! Earth to that little thing of yours that you call brain! Are you still on the orbit? Or have you ever been there?" She said sarcastically. Butch growled. He didn't like her tone.

"This is the real world if you haven't notice! And in the real world there are two sides!" she finished. "He won't want to know what this is about." She thought sadly. "Not that I care!" she quickly added in her head.

This confused him a little. He always thought that in the world were only the strong and the weaklings. And they were fighting for control. But then again, if things were like he thought, why did "the strong" always lose to "the weaklings"? "Because of the Power Brats!" he furiously said in his head. "And they are weak too!" he thought. That was a lie. He didn't know much about the others, but the girl in front of him wasn't weak. He fought her many times and he could say that she wasn't easy to beat. He only managed to do it since HIM gave him and his brothers a new doze of that antidote.

Although she had a really good point he wasn't about to admit that she was right.

"Yeah there are two sides" he said with a tone of superiority "The strong and the weak" he ended with a smirk.

"And the weak would be the villains, 'cause if I do remember correctly, they are the ones that always lose" she snapped, only half aware of the fact that she sounded like her red-headed sister.

He didn't know what to say at this. He just gazed at the brunette in front of him.

"You are so pitiful" she said after a few moments.

His eyes widened. How dare she!

"What! I'm the only one that can beat the crap out of you little sissy! The only one, you hear me? And you say I'm pitiful?" He was so angry that he could've killed her right then and there.

"Yes, that's what I'm saying!" she yelled back. "I admit! You're the only one who kicked my ass in my whole damn life! But Hell, you're pitiful!" she paused to see his reaction. He was furious, very furious. She decided to say everything before he exploded.

"I mean look at you! From the moment you were created the only thing you've ever done is to try to kill us! And why? 'Cause a ridiculous chimp and a stupid crab told you so! Admit it, you never chose for yourself!" she spat out.

He was a bit taken back because of her words. But she was right. He hated to admit it but she was right. The only argument the boys had for fighting the girls was that they destroyed them the first time. But then again they didn't have a very good reason for attacking them in first place. However...

"I already am a villain and that's that!" he said.

"You're stupider than I thought! You never saw the other side! You are a villain only because HIM tells you so!" she said.

"What do you suggest? Even if I wanted to change no one in this world would believe me! They won't forget what I've done!" he shouted more to himself that to her!

"You know what Butch? You're right. They won't forget. People don't forget..." she said in a tone that someone would use when they are giving a job interview "... but they can forgive" she said in a softer tone holding her hand in front of him.

Back to Bubbles and Boomer.

Boomer looked up. It took him a few seconds to realize what Bubbles was saying. "No she couldn't." he thought, "But what if..."

"What do you mean?" he almost whispered not daring to look into her eyes. He mentally slapped himself thinking that she would laugh at how stupid he was for hopping it could happen.

The blonde girl smiled. She took his face in her hands, but he was still not looking at her.

"Boomer..." she said in a gentle tone. He startled at the sound of his name. "Boomer look at me" she continued in the same tone, not liking to talk to someone that was not looking at her. He turned his eyes to face her. She gave him a shy smile before continuing.

"Well I'm not really good at explaining things like this but..." she took a deep breath.

"It would be useless to start to tell you about Good and Evil and all that stuff." she began. "In the world it's like a war between these two and, well, you can't just sit behind watching. You have to choose a side. And you do that by seeing both of them, not only listen to what the others say, but you have to see it for yourself. Then you decide what side you are on." She said trying to look calm and confident.

He studied her thinking of what she said. "You have to see both sides before choosing" he thought. "But I didn't. Does that mean..."

"Can you change sides?" He asked hopefully.

"Well no one usually expects you to do something like this, but then again, it's your life, your choice, you can do anything you want with it." She explained trying to hide her smile, but failing.

"Anything?" he said more to himself than to her.

"Anything" she said. "But it would be better if you don't do something stupid" she quickly added.

They laughed at this. When they finished they just stared at each other.

"Well..." Bubbles broke the silence "... would you like to see... my side?" she asked, furiously blushing.

Now Blossom and Brick...

She continued to look at him although she just wanted to get out of there and check if she still had her brains.

He was gazing at her, a bit confused, a bit suspicious and very curious. "What do you mean by 'the other side'?" he asked.

She sighed. "Brick we live in different worlds and well, I saw both of them and I made my choice. But you just saw the world Mojo and HIM showed you..." she said not really sure what she was going to say next.

"I don't need your pity!" he interrupted her.

"But I don't pity you" she said calmly. "There is a big difference between being sorry and pitying someone, you know" she continued.

He gazed into her eyes for several seconds. "Why would you say sorry to me?" he broke the silence.

"Because I made a big mistake and I hope you could forgive me." She said in a calm tone.

He was really confused. He didn't have even one little idea what this was all about. "What are you talking about?" he asked very curious.

"Brick..." she began. He realized that he really liked the way his name sounded when she said it. "... it may be hard to explain so if you want to find out you'll have to answer a question and I want you to be sincere" she told him. He gave a quiet nod.

"Why did you and your brothers attack me and my sisters in the first place?" she asked, very serious.

This stunned him and he took his eyes from her, as if looking for an answer somewhere around him.

"Well... because..." he started. He didn't have any idea of what to say. But he did say that he would tell the truth and a Rowdy Ruff respects his word (**A/N:** Hey, they're villains, but they're damn proud). "... because Mojo told us that you were our enemies by birth" he finished not sure that what he did was something good.

"In other words, you did what Mojo told you to" she said.

"He didn't control me in any way! I did it because I wanted to!" he snapped a little upset by her conclusion.

"Yes but you were influenced by him." she said calmly.

"So you're sorry that Mojo influenced me?" he said beginning to get angry.

"No! I'm sorry for not seeing this in first place and for destroying you back then." She told him in a gentle voice.

He was taken aback by her words. He didn't know what to say.

"If I wouldn't have done that you could've chosen... I'm sorry" she said with a shaky voice not looking at him.

"Well you could do something about it." He said trying to sound calm.

She looked up at him.

Back to our nice brunettes…

Butch was gazing at the girl in front of him like he wasn't sure if she was actually there. He turned his eyes to her hand that was reaching out. After a few minutes of staring he started to move his hand towards hers.

Let's see what our little blondes are doing…

It took Boomer all the concentration he was able to summon to stop himself from jumping around. Was she really offering to show him her world, to not be enemies anymore?

"R-Really? You're not joking?" he asked his voice full of happiness.

"Yes!" she nodded giving him a warm smile.

And now our favourite red-heads…

Blossom was trying to see something in his eyes, but they were full of hundreds of things that she had never seen before. So she decided to ask him what it was about.

"And what would that be?" she asked giving him a little grin.

In another part of the city a dark figure is watching the six super-powered children. And he isn't pleased with what he's seeing.

He grabbed a circular crystal holding it tight into his claw. "Don't you dare do it! Or you'll find out what happens to the ones who betray me!" yelled HIM's evil voice.

Each Rowdy Ruff heard HIM clearly in his mind but they all ignored him. They didn't care, not any more.

Cut to Buttercup and Butch

The Green Ruff reached his hand and grabbed his counterpart's hand. He smiled at her and she returned the smile.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

"Then do it! I want to see your side!" Boomer said excited. Bubbles smiled and before she knew what she was doing she hugged him tightly. He was surprised but he returned the hug.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

"You could... show me your world!" he said his voice full of hope.

She smiled at him and reached again for the spot where she hit him some minutes ago. She gently stroked his cheek. By coincidence it was the same spot that she kissed back when she met him.

"I'll do my best." She said grinning.

Cut to HIM's lair

"You'll pay for this, boys! You'll be so sorry for this!" said an angry HIM looking at the circular crystal that was almost black.

"You'll sure regret this!" he said again.

* * *

Done with chapter 3!

See you in the next one!


	4. Consequences

I wish you a Merry Christmas, I wish you a Merry Christmas, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Well the "happy New Year" thing will be a little later but these are the lines of the song. Don't sue me, I didn't write it!

This story is dedicated to my favourite cousins Mara and Irina (yrynna).

Thank you very much CamillaMB and BC chan for reviewing the last chapter!

I'm terribly sorry if I misspelled anything!

**Disclaimer:** Wouldn't it be great to own this stuff? If I did I'd make a lot of changes!

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 4: Consequences

HIM stood up fuming. If there was something that he really hated, that was being betrayed. He was the most evil villain of all and exactly for that he demanded respect. He looked at the magical mirror again to convince himself that he hadn't been seeing things: the boys were smiling and talking civilly to the girls instead of fighting them.

"They are going to pay for this! I swear Rowdy Ruff Boys that you'll be sorry for even thinking you could trick me!" he shouted angrily in his evil voice.

HIM turned his eyes to the circular crystal that was now black. He smiled evilly and looked at the boys in the mirror.

"It's not like I wasn't going to do it anyway..." he said in his female voice. "Time's up!"

Butch looked from Buttercup's face to their hands and then back to her eyes.

"That doesn't mean I'm gonna' go to tea parties or some other crap like that!" he said horrified of the thought.

Buttercup started to laugh so hard that she didn't notice that now there were only a few inches separating her from the raven-haired boy.

"If that was something you had to do to be on the good side I would've became a villain long ago!" she said still laughing.

The Green Ruff looked away blushing. He figured out that he had said something ridiculous. "Man someone could accuse me of stealing Boomers lines!" the thought feeling very stupid.

He turned his eyes to the girl in front of him who was still laughing. Some time ago, well a few minutes to be exact, he would've kicked her for laughing at him, but he realized that he really liked to hear her laughing.

He smiled amazed at how a short-tempered person like her could be so pretty when she was laughing... and not only in those times. She was always pretty. He liked the way her emerald eyes shined every time she was angry. Her raven hair was a little ruffed from their fight. He couldn't help but go "wha" at the way she always faced him in battle. She was a great fighter and she was so cute.

"I think I'm going crazy" he thought, still holding her hand. He didn't want to let go. He felt like if he did everything will prove to be a dream.

Buttercup stopped laughing and looked at their hands. "Why the hell are we still holding hands?" she asked herself, but before she could move in any way a voice in her head screamed "Don't you dare do it!".

"Huh? Why not?" she asked the vice.

"Because it feels so bloody good!" her conscience said in an 'isn't-it-obvious' tone.

"No it doesn't!" she snapped.

"Liar!"

"O.K., O.K.! It does feel good! What would you want me to do?" she said irritated furious that she was loosing the mental battle. "God! I'm arguing with my mind!" she thought exasperated.

"It's the first sign of insanity" her conscience said with a sigh.

"Oh, shut the Hell up!" she yelled in her head getting sick of that mental conversation.

She looked up and startled when she saw the distance between her and her counterpart. If any of them moved their head a little forward their lips would touch.

They stared in each other's eyes for what seemed an eternity. Butch was feeling something warm inside. His heart was racing. He had felt like that only once before: last night when he was in her dream... when they were so close...

Boomer felt like he was in Heaven. He didn't want to ever let go of her. But like they say you can't get everything you want.

She pulled back but she kept her hands on his solders. She had no idea what to say. She looked down.

He was staring at her. "Man she's so pretty!" he thought. The Blue Ruff was studying her. He was wondering why he never noticed how beautiful her golden hair was. Her sky blue eyes were always so kind and her body looked so fragile... like a little porcelain doll. "But she really hits hard" he thought remembering their fights. "Ouch!" he thought smiling at himself.

Then something came to his mind: "Man! Those boys are mean!" she had said that (**A\N:** I'm not sure if this is the exact line but it's something like this). He couldn't remember when but he was sure that she said it. "Does she still think that?" he thought feeling like he could cry if she said yes.

"Bubbles?" he began in a weak voice.

She looked up at him gazing in his eyes. "Yes?" she said in a gentle tone.

"Do... do you... think that... I'm... evil?" he asked almost scared of the answer.

"Why would I think that?" she said a little confused of his question.

"Well... I remember you saying that we... I mean my brothers and I were really mean and... well... I thought..." he stopped. He didn't know what to say. He looked away from her.

She sighed. She placed her hand under his chin and turned him so that he was facing her. "Boomer... do you feel evil?" she asked her kind eyes reflecting the sun light.

He stared in her blue orbs not sure why she would want to know that, but he decided to answer anyway. "Honestly... no." He said in a voice that was almost a whisper.

"See. If even you don't feel evil, you don't think you're evil why would I think that?" she said smiling at him.

"But I did feel evil... many times" he said more to himself that to her.

"But you don't anymore." she said moving a little closer to him.

"No... not since last night" he whispered.

Bubbles felt a wave of curiosity and excitement. "Could it be..." she thought hopefully.

"What happened last night?" she asked trying hard to act normal.

He looked in her eyes like he was trying to see something there, that was invisible to others. "You... you had a dream last night... 'bout us fighting... in a crystal forest..." he said.

She nodded "Yes. Yes I had". "I knew it! I knew it was more than just a dream!" she thought.

"Well it was real... in a way." he continued. "You see, HIM sent us in your dreams and… well… you know what happened next" he said getting closer to her body.

"And since then you felt different?" she asked not really expecting an answer.

"Yes. Since... since we..." he felt a little uncomfortable whit the word.

"Kissed?" Bubbles completed his sentence blushing.

Boomer nodded not taking his gaze from her. They were so close...

Blossom and Brick were staring at each other. None of them knew what to say next.

The Pink Puff was getting very pissed off with that silence. "Oh this feels so stupid!" she thought. "If someone doesn't start a conversation fast I'll go mental." She waited a few minutes for him to do something but when he didn't "It might as well be me" she quietly sighted.

"So..." she began not really sure of what she could say "...what made you change your mind, you know about the good side?" she asked in an uncharacteristic shy voice.

"You" he simply answered. He considered the question quite stupid.

"Me?" she said confused. "You mean that I convinced you in a few minutes to come see my side? You never felt at least curious about the good side, before?" she asked in disbelief.

"Well now that you said it I did feel weird 'bout being on HIMs side... from time to time..." he said without taking his eyes off hers.

"When... when did you exactly feel that?" she asked.

"I don't really remember... sometimes when HIM explained his newest plan to destroy you, but I got them off my head very fast." He answered.

"Why?" she said getting closer to him.

"Man, you really have a lot of questions!" he said and laughed when he saw her turning her eyes away.

This gave him the opportunity to study her without her noticing. He looked at the way her hair danced in the wind. Her pink, wise eyes were focused on one spot. Her cheeks were the same colour as her eyes and her thin body made her look so beautiful.

"I have to stop thinking" he thought smirking.

He thought of her question. The answer he had was so stupid that he wondered if it was really an answer or just a silly comment.

"I'm not sure" he began in a small voice. She looked up at him. "Every time I thought about it HIM 'reminded' me that you were our mortal enemies, that we hated you and that we had to destroy you" he said as fast as he could hopping that she wouldn't think he was stupid.

"And this time you didn't listen to HIM..." she said more to herself than to him.

He nodded relived that she didn't think it was ridiculous. "This time you were here and you didn't let my thoughts go away." he said smiling.

He turned his eyes from her. "Thanks." he whispered.

She smiled at the red-headed boy. "How can he be so cute?" she thought blushing.

She flew towards him so their eyes met again. She took his hands in hers smiling her warm sweet smile.

Brick looked at her, almost paralysed. His cheeks had the same colour as his eyes. "This girl is too beautiful for her own good." he thought while getting closer and closer to her.

In another part of the town HIM was scandalized at what he was seeing.

"OH NO YOU LITTLE BRATS! THIS STORY DOESN'T HAVE A HAPPY ENDING!" HIM yelled in his evil voice and disappeared in a pink cloud.

Back in town things aren't going to be so quiet anymore...

Suddenly everything was surrounded by a red light.

Cut to Buttercup and Butch

The brunettes looked at the deep red shy.

"What the-" they said at the same time.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

The blue-eyed children started at the sight.

"Oh my God!" they whispered.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

The leaders didn't need to think more that a moment.

"HIM" they hissed.

"I warned you, you can't say I didn't, but some people just won't listen!" HIM's evil voice filled their ears.

Cut to Buttercup and Butch

"What the hell does he want?" the green eyed girl said getting angry.

"No idea" Butch said tightening his grip on her hand and pulling her closer so he could block any attack that could hit her. "But I'm sure he isn't here just to say 'hi'".

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

"Boomer what's happening?" the Blue Puff asked panic rising in her voice.

"Don't worry Bubbles." The blue eyed boy said warping his arm around the girl's waist. "I won't let him touch you."

Cut to Blossom and Brick

"Why is he here?" the red-headed girl asked. "Does he know about...?"

"Yeah I think he does." Brick said pushing her behind him so she won't get hurt. "This 'ain't gona' be pretty."

"Oh how noble of you boys... trying to protect the girls..." HIM said in his feminine voice. "WHEN YOUR MISSION WAS TO DESTROY THEM!" he yelled. "Oh well, this had to happen... sooner or later, but I was hoping that you would've completed the mission you were created for, first." HIM sighted.

"What are you talking about?" the Red Ruff shouted getting really angry.

"Oh I'm talking about something I warned you about, but you didn't want to hear." the devil said a little grin appearing on his face. "THE CONSEQUENCES OF BETRAYAL!" he screamed furiously, in his evil voice.

HIM got out the circular crystal which began to glow with a weird light. It seemed to make things darker instead of lighting them up.

Suddenly the boys felt a great pain in the chest that spread quickly into their whole bodies. They fell into the girls' arms screaming in agony.

Cut to Buttercup and Butch

"Butch! What's happening?" Buttercup said trying to calm him down.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

"Boomer! What's wrong?" she said trying to hold back tears.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

"Brick!" Blossom gasped. She looked up to where HIM was. "What did you do to him?" she yelled at him.

"Oh, don't worry my dear Blossom, he isn't alone in his pain" HIM said in his feminine voice. "His brothers are in the same state because they're all a bunch of traitors." he smirked. "We've never been close but I'm sure that you know I won't let anyone be stronger that me. But I like to make others take care of my business. So I made a compromise. You see that little potion I gave the boys wasn't something that would protect them from your cooties. I just convinced them it would do that and because they believed it happened exactly like I said." he smirked.

"Then what did it really do?" the Pink Puff asked holding her counterpart who was still screaming.

"It gave them power, but only for a short time. After that time was up, the power went away slowly taking their vital energy with it. For this little problem I created this" he pointed at the crystal in his hand "to keep the power there longer. And it worked. But now that the spell wore off the crystal needs energy to keep existing. And it takes their energy."

"You monster!" Blossom shouted feeling tears forming in her eyes.

In the same moment all boys stopped screaming and fainted.

"Oh look. They couldn't keep it up with the pain." HIM said a big evil smile creeping on his face. "If they're lucky they'll stay like this and die in their sleep and they won't feel a thing." he said in his feminine voice.

"NO!" all three girls yelled feeling like they could do anything just to know that the Ruffs were going to be O.K.

"I hope you'll enjoy these hours because they are the last of the of the Rowdy Ruff Boys' lives!" HIM laughed and disappeared in a pink cloud.

* * *

Voila! End of chapter 

See you next time!


	5. Not letting you die

Hey guys! I'm so sorry I couldn't update sooner but I was very busy with studying. I know it's holiday but in a few weeks there's gonna' be a big math contest and I'm going there to be the best! Well maybe I'm a little too ambitious but you know what they say "low standards- low results" and I don't want low results!

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina (yrynna).

I want to say thank you to CamillaMB, BC chan and ShadowDog34 for reviewing my last chapter. THANKS!

**Disclaimer:** Do you really think that I'd be writing fan fiction if I owned this stuff!?!

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 5: Not letting you die

Buttercup was staring at the Green Ruff's inert body. She didn't loosen the grip she had on him even one bit. She refused to believe what just happened.

"No! You can't be dead Butch." She whispered running her hand through his raven hair. "You just can't."

But he wasn't dead. She remembered HIM saying that they still had time and he fainted from all the pain.

"God that must hurt like hell!" she thought gazing at his closed eyes like she was expecting him to open them and smile at her... the smile he gave her when he accepted to see her side. And for that he was dying now.

She closed her eyes getting closer and closer to his body. She stopped when their cheeks touched. She stayed like this a few minutes thinking of all the things that happened in the last 24 hours: her dream, their kiss, their fight, every word they said, his smiling figure in front of her, the sensation of his hand touching hers... she smiled weakly when she remembered this. She felt like electricity ran through her body when they touched.

But then there were the bad parts. She shivered when she recalled his screams. They stopped when he fainted, but she could still hear him, in her mind. He was in so much pain and she couldn't do anything about it. And that devil was laughing at the pain he caused him. Oh how she wanted to make him feel all the pain Buch felt. But that won't do any good if he was dead. But he wasn't going to die. She won't accept it.

Her green eyes popped open, a very determined look in them. She turned her head so she was facing the unconscious boy.

"And you're not, not as long as I'm alive!" she said, her voice rising only a little above a whisper. "I'm not letting you die!"

Bubbles was hugging Boomer's limp body. She was sobbing. She didn't cry, not literally. Not even one tear left her eyes, though they were filled with the salty liquid. That's why she couldn't really see what was going in around her. The only thing she knew was that she was holding the blonde boy... the boy that she thought he was her enemy, the boy that had her thoughts on him for so long, the boy that stole her first kiss, the boy that wanted to protect her when HIM showed up, the boy that was now dying in he arms.

She held him closer. She tried to convince herself that everything was just a dream, that in the next moment he'd wake up and he'd tell her that everything was O.K. and she didn't have what to worry about.

She blinked realizing that everything was real. She looked at his face. He didn't seem like he was dying. No, she actually thought, only for a second, that he was asleep. And how couldn't she? He looked so peaceful there, in her arms.

Her mind wondered back, when he was asking her all those questions about her side. She smiled a little remembering the cute look in his eyes. In those moments he reminded her of a child. He was so curious, so innocent. But then again he was a child. As much as he would hate to admit it, he was a child. And so was she. But they weren't like the others. That was the thing that made them special, not their super powers (well maybe that too) but the fact that they knew so much more about life than the others did.

It was so unfair that his life was going to end so soon. She just couldn't let that happen.

She took his face in her hands gazing at him.

"Don't worry Boomer." she said in a gentle voice. "I won't let you die" she whispered in his ear. "No matter what."

Blossom was holding Brick with one hand. The other was on his cheek, on the spot where she had hit him... the spot where she had kissed him. Their faces were only a few inches from each other.

She wasn't really sure where she was. She could remember every little thing that happened, but everything seemed so unreal, so dream-like. Now she wasn't even able to make the difference between her thoughts and reality.

She was confused, not sure what she was going to do next, but above all she was hurt. Hurt because in a way she was the one that that caused him all that pain. If it wasn't for her and her little thoughts that refused to go away, if she would've kept her theories, her apologies to herself then, maybe, he would've been alive now.

"I'm sorry, Brick." she said in such a weak voice that for a second she wondered if it was really her voice. She hugged him tightly resting her head on his. "I'm so sorry." She whispered feeling the urge to cry.

"Don't be silly!" said a voice in her head. "You didn't kill him!"

"What? Who are you?" the red-head asked a little confused.

"Uh, and they say you're smart!" her conscience snapped at her.

"Bellatrix?" she thought (**A/N:** I just had to give her conscience a name so I named her Bellatrix, I like this name. Don't ask why, I just do!).

"The one and only!" Bellatrix said ironically.

"Why are you here Bella?"

"Well 1) I do live in your head, you know; and 2) you just said the biggest lie that could've come out of your mouth right now!"

Blossom knew what she was talking about, but she didn't consider it a lie.

"But it was my fault." She whispered in her mind. "If I hadn't said all those things, if I had just kept out of his life he would've still been here!" she finished wishing she was in his place in that moment.

"O.K… Just in case you went blind too, let me remind you that he's still here and he's alive, unconscious, but alive. And it's not your damn fault."

Blossom was going to protest but Bellatrix stopped her.

"Didn't you hear HIM? He would've done this sooner or later! Now at least he knows the truth!" Bellatrix said exasperated that the Pink Puff couldn't see something so oblivious.

"Bella..." Blossom tried, but got cut off again.

"No! Stop it! Stop blaming yourself, get up and get to action! He's still alive and you want him to stay that way!"

The red-headed girl closed her eyes for a moment, thinking about the mental conversation she just had with her friend. She opened her eyes, the look in them very different.

"You're right Bella! And I'm sorry that I thought otherwise!"

She turned to the boy in her arms and blushed a little when she saw how close they were.

"I'm not letting you down Brick!" she said in a very confident tone. "I promise! I'm not letting you die! You can be sure of that!" she finished.

She lifted him up and flew in the air. She stopped a moment later realizing that there wasn't much she could do. But she made a promise to him and she was going to respect it. She closed her eyes trying to find an idea that could help him.

"The Professor!" she thought. "He must know what to do about this!" She smiled at herself and looked at the boy in her arms. "He'll find a way to save you!"

She turned to fly home, but something stopped her.

"HIM said that your brothers are in the same situation!" she said, for a moment thinking that he could hear her. "I'm sure that you won't want to wake up and find them dead!" she told him. "And if HIM did this to them too, that means maybe my sisters convinced them too, to see our side." She thought.

She started to fly towards the place she last saw Buttercup. It didn't take her more that a minute to find her green-eyed sister. She was holding her counterpart looking ready to take off.

"Buttercup!" the red-head shouted.

"Blossom?" the brunette turned around and saw above her with an unconscious Brick in her arms. "Did you... too?" she asked a little confused.

"Yeah!" Blossom said "I convinced him to come on our side and HIM did this to him." she answered.

"What do we do now leader girl?" the Green Puff asked looking hopefully at her sister.

"I don't know Buttercup!" the Pink Puff said looking very ashamed of this. "But I think the Professor might have an idea!" she said turning to face the other girl.

Buttercup smiled, although she was a little disappointed that their solution was just a possibility and nothing that she could know for sure.

Like reading her thoughts Blossom said: "I don't like that we don't have something we know will work either, but it's all we have at the moment."

"O.K.!" the green eyed girl said, more confident this time.

"Good! Now let's go find Bubbles! I have a feeling that she's in the same position as we are" the red-headed girl said smiling and looking down at the boys.

They found Bubbles a few blocks further, hugging Boomer and looking like she was about to burst into tears.

"Bubbles!" Buttercup called landing next to her.

The blonde looked at her sisters, very surprised to see that they were holding their counterparts. "Wha-?"

"Long story, but I think you already know it!" Blossom said landing in front of her.

"So you did it too? You convinced them?" the blonde asked staring at her sisters.

"Yeah we did!" Buttercup said "And now they are in one Hell of a problem!"

"I don't want him to die." the Blue Puff whispered more to herself than to the others.

"Hey if we wanted them to die do you think we'd be carrying them around like this!" the brunette said getting pissed off.

Bubbles looked up at her sister hurt visible in her eyes. Blossom saw this and decided that they talked too much.

"O.K., enough girls! None of us wants to let the boys die, but we're not helping them if we're just staying here looking at them and arguing!"

The Green and Blue Puffs turned to face their leader, nodding in agreement.

"Now, let's go home! The faster we get them to the Professor the faster he'll be able to find something to help them!" Blossom commanded.

Cut to the Professors lab

The girls flew in, through the ceiling.

"Girls!" the Professor said turning around. "What the-" he said surprised when he saw the Puffs holding three unconscious Rowdy Ruff Boys.

"Professor we need your help!" Blossom said in a voice that wouldn't take "no" as an answer.

* * *

Wow I'm done with chapter 5!

Just want to know: do you really think this story is like Action/Adventure? Just from what you read 'till here. Hmmm… I'm beginning to doubt. I think it would be at least General or something. What do you think? Please review and tell me! Oh and tell me what you think 'bout the chapter too!

See ya' in chapter 6!

Sorry if I misspelled something!


	6. Running out of time

Hi everyone! I can't believe I'm updating now! I thought it'd take me at least 'till next week, but here it is: chapter 6!

This story is dedicated to my lovely cousins Mara and Irina (yrynna).

Thanks BC chan, CamillaMB, SOENergetic and Konfused Kitty for reviewing chapter 5.

**Disclaimer:** I wish I owned this stuff.

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 6: Running out of time

The girls told the Professor everything that happened as fast as they could. On three occasions the Professor had to make them slow down or stop talking in the same time so he could understand what they were saying.

"... and after we got Bubbles we came here." Blossom ended the story. She took a deep breath and looked at the Professor. "We have to find a way to help them!" the red head said looking in her creators eyes.

"I don't know what to say girls. This may be one of HIM's plans..." the Professor began.

"What?" Buttercup practically yelled. "How can you say such a thing?! HIM almost killed them! Didn't you get the part when we said that they are dying!?"

"Yes Professor!" Bubbles got into the conversation. "If this was a trick, HIM wouldn't have hurt them so bad. And I just know that Boomer wasn't lying. I could see it in his eyes when we were talking."

The Professor looked at his little daughter. She was so innocent. But he knew that, even if she was a miserable liar, she knew when someone was lying.

"Bubbles is right Professor!" Blossom said and from the tone of her voice everyone in the room knew she was going to win that little battle. "I mean, HIM isn't stupid! If you're right and this is fake do you think the boys would've ever accepted to do this?" the Pink Puff stopped for a second waiting for the Professor to make a comeback. But when he didn't she continued: "No, of course not! We all know that they wanted to beat us only with their force, to prove that they are stronger." She stopped again waiting for a comeback and this time she got one.

"He could've done it without their consent." The Professor said.

Blossom thought that if she wasn't running out of time she would've started to laugh. But now she just couldn't.

"Professor, if HIM really did this without the boys knowing, which he did in a way, it's obvious that he didn't tell them anything so they really accepted to be on our side. And I doubt that HIM would actually think that after doing this to the boys they would still want to work for him! And if that crystal thing is fake, HIM knows that the Ruffs are stronger than him in any day of the week! He wouldn't have risked!" she finished.

The older man closed his eyes thinking at Blossom's words. She was right. Every argument she brought was totally true and he was sure that if he continued to be stubborn and not accept that everything was for real she'd just came up with more. But something bothered him. For a moment, he thought it was the fact that the boys were known as villains and tried to destroy his girls so many times, but he decided it wasn't that. No, it was the tone the girls used when they asked him to help the Ruffs. It wasn't the tone they'd use for someone they thought to be just a person, someone who deserves to live. No they'd use this tone for someone they cared for. And this made him feel uncomfortable.

"Professor?" he heard Bubbles' voice. He looked at her innocent face. Her blue eyes were searching for an answer.

"O.K.!" he finally said. "Let's get to work! Put them here." He pointed to three beds in the medical area of the lab.

The girls did as he told them and then turned to their father. They felt more confident now that the Professor was helping them.

"What now?" Buttercup asked.

"Well, I have to make some tests to find out exactly what's going on in their bodies, so you three should go upstairs and rest a little. You had a hard day." he said. "Don't worry, I'll do my best to help the boys and I'll call you when I'll have something clear." He quickly added when he saw the expressions on their faces.

The girls nodded and exited the lab.

The Professor stared at the door for a few minutes after the Puffs got out.

"What are you getting yourselves into this time?" he whispered.

He turned around and looked at the three boys in front of him. He sighed.

"Well I think I have to get to work." he said. He went in the back of the lab and returned with a little recorder which had the words "Chemical X subjects: medicine" on in.

Meanwhile…

In their room the girls were quiet. Each was lost in her own world.

Buttercup was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. She hated not being able to do something. To stay there waiting... She didn't even know if the Professor will be able to find a way to help the boys, "To help him..." she said in her head thinking of Butch.

She sighed. She didn't like this. Too many things happened in such a short time. Only a few hours ago they were arch enemies and now she was very worried for him.

She closed her eyes. She had so many things on her mind... so many feelings in her heart. She had to admit that she was a bit scared. She never had to deal with such problems before.

Everything was so new to her. She felt small, helpless. She couldn't recognize one thing that was going on inside her. She wanted to wake up and realize that everything was just a dream, but she knew that wasn't going to happen.

She'll just have to wait to see what the Professor discovered, if he discovered something.

She rolled over burying her head in her pillow.

"Butch..." she whispered before falling asleep.

Bubbles was on the floor. She was hugging Octi and she had tears on her face. She wasn't really sure why she was crying. She trusted the Professor with her life and she was sure that he was going to find a way to help Boomer.

She blinked realizing what she had just thought. The Professor was going to help all three of them. But why did she only think of Boomer?

She closed her eyes and hugged Octi tighter. Usually when it came to feelings she was an expert, but now it was different. It wasn't about someone else's feelings. It was about her own feelings.

She couldn't understand how this boy could make her feel so many things at the same time.

She considered him a friend, but she never felt like this for a friend before. Was he different? She didn't know. She couldn't figure it out.

"Boomer... what's so different about you?" she asked in a quiet voice before drifting into her dreams.

Blossom was standing in front of the open window. She was staring in space and yet at one single thing that no one could say what it was. She wanted to put some order in her mind but it was so hard. Every time she tried the only result was just a bigger mess.

"Why don't you stop messing your brain and try do something useful?" a voice in her head said.

"And by useful you mean talking to you?" she asked.

"Hey! When's the last time talking to me was useless?!" Bellatrix tried to sound hurt.

"You got me there."

"So, what do you think?"

"'Bout what?"

"Don't play stupid! About what's happening?"

"What's happening?" Blossom asked imitating a little kid.

"Oh why you little...! Do you really wanna' make me go insane?"

"I thought you were already insane." The red head smiled. She liked to have this mental game of teasing. It helped her to concentrate without Bella's questions. Well, she always liked to talk to Bellatrix. They always managed to solve everything, but she wanted to have a good start and for that she needed a little time and something fun to do.

"Uh! You're unbelievable!" Bella shouted.

They were both silent for the next moments. Blossom was lost in her thoughts and Bellatrix was silent.

"You know... I don't like this." Blossom whispered in her mind.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The Pink Puff closed her eyes. Her body stood where it was, but her mind traveled into another world, hers and Bella's world. She always needed her conscience so she made her be more than a little part of her mind. She gave her a name, an appearance, a home, in one word, a life. Now she was a person, her friend, her best friend.

She looked at Bellatrix. She smiled when she met her purple eyes. She had the body of a ten year old girl. Blossom thought it would be better if she got advices from someone that at least looked older than her and she didn't want a teenager or an adult.

The girl had long silvery-blue hair and pale skin. She had an innocent face, but her eyes betrayed a little shade of arrogance and her lips always held a know-it-all smile.

Bellatrix wore a short, white dress. She had a big, silver ribbon tied around her waist and smaller ones at her wrists. The dress revealed her pale shoulders. She had a necklace with an owl holding a heart which was about to break in its claws. Blossom never really imagined the necklace, but when she opened her eyes and saw Bella for the first time, she just had it.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you or are you going to stay there all day?" the silver headed girl said in what she wanted to be an annoyed tone, but she couldn't hide her curiosity.

"I mean I'm worried. Did you hear the tone HIM used when he said that Br- the boys are going to die? Like he was sure there was nothing that could save hi- them." The pink eyed girl said turning her head to hide her blush. She almost referred only to Brick, forgetting his brothers.

She studied Bella's little world. She had been there many times, but she just couldn't stop herself from looking around every time she was there. She just loved this crystal forest. Wait! Crystal forest? Her eyes widened. It was the place in her dream.

Bellatrix was about to say something, but she got cut off.

"Bella! This is the place in my dream! The place where me and Brick..." she stopped realizing that she was about to say something really stupid.

"What's happening to you Bloss?"

"Huh?"

"Since that dream, you've changed."

"But, in that dream, I had..."

"I know what happened, but we don't even know if it was real!" the older girl stopped and looked at the red-head. "It's not about what happened, it's about him. What's so special 'bout this guy Bloss?"

"I don't know Bella. I don't know."

"Well, I don't either. But we won't find out what it is if he dies. Besides, you made a promise."

Blossom nodded. She was about to say something when she heard the Professor's voice which sounded like he was a 1000 miles away.

"Girls! Get down here!"

She snapped back to reality and zoomed down stairs in a moment. When she arrived she saw her sisters there, looking very hopeful.

"Did you find anything?" the girls asked in the same time.

"Yes!" the Professor said "Come on"

They followed him in the medical area where the boys were. They didn't look too well.

"Professor what did you find?" Blossom asked taking her gaze off Brick.

"Well I think that crystal thing finds the boys by their blood. I mean it detects their blood structure." he began.

"And what can we do 'bout that?" Buttercup asked without taking her eyes off Butch.

"We could mask it." The older man said.

"Professor, how can you mask someone's blood?" Bubbles asked confused.

"With a transfusion dear."

"A transfusion?" Blossom repeated.

"Yes. If we could get some of your blood in theirs it will create a reaction that will fool the crystal. But it will take time to happen."

"Professor, if you didn't notice, they don't have much time left!" Buttercup said taking her gaze off her counterpart for the first time since she caught sight of him.

"Well, we don't really have any other solution." The Professor said sighting.

"It's their only chance!" Blossom said. She looked at her sisters and they nodded.

"Lets do it!" they said.

In less than 5 minutes the transfusion was done.

"Now all we can do is wait." the Professor said taking a seat at a desk.

In another part of the city…

"Oh girls, you think you can save these little traitors..." HIMs feminine voice said "... but you're wrong!" he finished in his evil voice holding op the circular crystal, making it glow even more. "YOU'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!"

Back to the Utonium household

Everyone was silent looking at the Ruffs, asking themselves if their solution was going to work. Suddenly the boys' bodies started to shake violently.

"Butch!" Buttercup yelled, running to him.

"Boomer!" Bubbles cried, flying by his side too.

"Brick!" Blossom gasped, zooming towards him.

"Professor! What's happening?" the Pink Puff asked feeling tears filling her eyes.

"I'm not sure, but I think the energy draining has been hurried up! If I'm right and this happened your blood won't be able to mask theirs in time. They won't survive!" he said wishing someone would come and tell him he was wrong.

* * *

That's all, for now. Kinda' dramatic ending, huh? Well I like drama… and tragedy… and horror (but I don't think you'll find that here).

O.K. I'm done! Now I gotta' run and finish my homework!

See ya in chapter 7!


	7. Tears

Hey everyone! I hope I wasn't too long. Sorry if I was, but hey I had a problem with my computer! It just wouldn't start! Very annoying! When my dad fixed it yesterday I was so happy that I wrote chapter 7 in less then 2 hours! I hope you'll like it!

Thank you very much for reviewing the last chapter BC chan and Lil Fang!

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina (yrynna).

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything but the plot and Bellatrix.

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 7: Tears

The Professor's words sounded so weird in the girls' ears. In all the time they had been superheroes they never lost a battle. And if they did it was only temporary. They always came with a solution to solve everything. But there's a first time for everything. And this was the first time they actually lost a battle. And it was an important one too.

Buttercup was staring at Butch. She couldn't believe it. How could this be happening? It was so cruel, so unfair! And just now... she shivered and grabbed his hand.

She couldn't say that she knew him. At least not like a friend. She knew how it was to be his enemy, she knew what it meant to fight him, and Hell did it hurt. She managed to convince him to come to her side, but she never got the chance to show it to him, she never got the chance to know him, she never got the chance to show him who she was.

The brunette thought back at the few minutes she was with him... after he took her hand. She could still feel his warm hand holding hers. It felt so good, so right. She just couldn't believe that was what brought him in this stage.

But it wasn't about what she did or something he did. It was about HIM. It was his entire fault. That stupid, arrogant devil! If someone didn't play like him then he wouldn't play at all. How she hated him!

She tightened her grip on Butch's hand. She looked at his closed eyes. She imagined him opening them, griping her hand too, so she could feel his strength without feeling hurt in any way. She wanted to see his smile one more time.

She blinked realizing that nothing of this was going to happen. No! He was dying. And it was all because of HIM. "He'll pay for this" she thought. "When I'm finished with him he's going to regret the day he was born".

She looked at the raven haired boy in front of her. She felt tears filling her eyes. And she didn't do anything to stop them.

Bubbles was gazing at Boomer with the same look she had when HIM first activated the crystal. She was scared, scared for him. She didn't know how it felt to be dead. But she was sure he knew. He went through everything that death meant and she knew it had to be horrible. She didn't want him to go through it again.

His body was still shaking. She looked at him for several seconds with nothing in her mind. She was just watching him. He had a weird rhythm, not too fast and not too slow. Sometimes it became violent, but only for a second, not more. She figured out that in those moments it hurt him really bad.

She shyly reached her hand and touched his. In that second he violently startled. She withdrew her hand instantly.

She looked at him for a few moments that seemed to last ages. Then she gathered her courage and grabbed his hand. She felt a wave of warmth go through her body. It reminded her of her dream.

The shade of a smile appeared on the blonde's face. It was a little ironical. Last time he died it was because she kissed him. And now he was dying because they kissed in a dream.

Why did he always have to die because of something as pure and innocent as a kiss? She didn't know the answer. She was sure that there was a reason. A part of her wanted to know, but another one said that it was better if she didn't find out.

She had a strange feeling that it could be because of her and not because of the kiss. She bit her lip pushing back the thought. It was too horrible to think about it.

She couldn't accept the fact that she may be the cause of his death. But then again HIM wouldn't have done that to him if she wouldn't have kissed him then.

She gazed at him with a scared look on her face. She was frightened of her thoughts, but even more, of the fact that they might be real.

She knew she was going to cry. She could feel it. She would let herself do it. It was the only thing she could do now.

Blossom was just staring at the red headed boy that was lying on the bed in front of her. She had so many things going on in her mind, but she couldn't focus on neither of them.

It wasn't the "I'm-trying-to-do-more-things-at-the-same-time" thing she tried so many times before. That moment she would've given anything to empty her head or at least to have the chance to actually do something about all those problems that seemed to get worse by the second.

She felt like she was living everything all over again, in the exact order. One moment she remembered fighting Brick, the next one she was holding his unconscious body, a second later she was talking to Bellatrix in her world and right after that she was kissing him. She felt so confused. She tried to figure out how everything happened or at least how it began.

It wasn't an easy task. She couldn't decide if it was the first time they met or just last night when she had the dream.

It could've been back when they met. After all, Mojo Jojo created him to be the best weapon against her. Mojo did a great job: she never faced anyone so strong before or after. But she had found a way to defeat him: a kiss, just a simple kiss... her first kiss. It destroyed him. She stopped her thoughts there. When she did it, she wasn't sure what would happen. She wondered what she would have done, if she had known it was going to destroy him. She didn't know, she couldn't answer. But now HIM brought him back. The devil gave him the "cootie antidote" and the Red Ruff came after her to have his revenge. "Because I killed him" she thought. However, this reason wasn't good enough for what was happening.

No! Everything was there in her dream. Anything that was directly related to this thing was there. She didn't know why she was thinking about that dream again, but she just knew it had something to do with their problem.

She closed her eyes trying to remember as many things as she could. It wasn't very hard. She could clearly see every detail of the dream. If she concentrated a little she could actually feel the pain his punch caused her or the warmth of his lips on hers.

Her thoughts trailed off again. Everything she had on her mind then disappeared. The only thing that remained was the kiss. What did it mean? She didn't know.

She watched her hand slowly making its way to his face. Was she really doing that? She quietly gazed at her hand that was now touching the boy's lips. She blushed when she realized what she was doing and moved her hand so it rested on his cheek.

She tried to remember the conversation they had a few hours ago. In her head everything was happening all over again. When it came to the part HIM arrived she wanted to stop, but her mind refused to. She re-saw everything like she was watching a movie. Only one thing remained in her thoughts after everything was over: "I promise. I'm not letting you die! You can be sure of that!"

She promised him she would do something. And what did she do? She let the Professor handle everything. She let him down. She broke her promise.

"I'm sorry Brick." she whispered feeling like she was going to cry. She felt so stupid, so useless, so helpless. It was too late.

Far away from the Professor's lab, in the beautiful crystal forest, Bellatix was watching the events in the other world, in the little river.

She could see every detail. For a normal eye the three girls standing there beside the Ruffs wouldn't be more than what they looked to be. But for the silver haired girl it was different. She could see in their minds.

The shade of a smile appeared on her face when she saw the brunettes rage. It was so typical of her.

She turned her head to look at the blue eyed girl. Bellatrix could tell she was scared. She knew the reason, but it was so strange to see little Bubbles thinking of such things.

Her expression became impassible when her eyes landed on the Pink Puff. She watched her several seconds. She managed to get so close to her, closer that to her sisters, but still her mind was the hardest to read. Maybe because there were so many things happening there in the same time. After a minute she finally saw her thoughts.

She was surprised and she didn't know why. She expected Blossom to have something like that in her mind. But those thoughts came with intense feelings.

She thought for a little while and then leaned over the water.

"It's not too late girls. But I'm going to need your help" she whispered touching the clear surface of the river, a bright light appearing from her fingers.

Back in the Professor's lab the girls were feeling like they were the ones dying. They just couldn't accept it. Hot tears fell from their big eyes. Almost every one of them landed on the boys faces.

Now the Puffs were quietly crying. Crying for the Ruffs… the ones that only a few hours ago were their enemies.

Suddenly the boys stopped convulsing. In that moment the girls thought they were dead. But something happened. They slowly began to move. They opened their eyes.

"Butch!" Buttercup whispered. Every plan of how to make HIM regret the day he was born disappeared in that second.

Butch looked up at her and smiled the smile she liked so much. But he couldn't know that. Then he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Has the soap opera ended?" he asked smirking. In the next second he mentally kicked himself. Where did that come from? Probably it was the little habit he formed in teasing her. He just hoped she wouldn't get mad.

Buttercup stared at the green eyed boy in front of her. He just woke up from a coma, he was dying a moment ago and now he was teasing her. Normally she would've gotten so mad she would've ripped him apart right there on the spot. But now it was different. She didn't know why, but the remark seemed funny. She smiled.

"You little jack ass!" she practically yelled, throwing her arms around his neck. "You scared me to death!"

The Green Ruff was taken aback. He couldn't believe what was happening. Something in his mind told him to tease her again, but he didn't even hear it. He ruffed the girl's raven hair, smiling.

Bubbles looked at Boomer opening his eyes as if she was assisting at the most important thing in the world. But for her this was the most important thing in the world, now.

"Boomer..." she said. She stopped, not knowing how to continue. She was so happy Boomer was alive that she forgot everything else that happened.

The Blue Ruff gazed at his counterpart. It was obvious that she had cried. He had seen her crying just a few hours ago. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had been asleep for a hundred years. However, he perfectly remembered the way she looked when she was crying. He didn't want to see her cry. It made him feel sad too.

Then the blonde boy saw she was holding his hand. He griped it and started to pull her closer. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but there was something that told him he had to do it.

"Bubbles... I'm O.K." he whispered. He continued to pull her towards him.

She got the message and let herself to fall into his open arms. He hugged her and she hugged him back. She knew that just a minute ago he had been dying, but she felt so safe in his arms, like nothing bad could ever happen as long as she was with him.

Blossom was staring at Brick. She wasn't sure what was happening. She was looking in Bricks fiery eyes, but was this real? She could just be dreaming. How could he recover so fast?

The Red Ruff gazed deep into the girls eyes. She had been crying. "Why would she cry?" he asked himself. He studied he features carefully without missing a thing. "I didn't know angels cried." he thought. A moment later he realized what he had just thought. "Man, I seriously have to stop thinking!" he said in his mind.

They stayed like that several seconds. Finally the boy broke the silence.

"Blossom...?". His voice wasn't more than a whisper, but she heard him clearly.

Her heart jumped. He was alive! Something in her mind said that you could hear in dreams, but she didn't listen. Se was so happy he was O.K. She felt hot tears forming in her eyes. But these weren't tears of sadness, they were of happiness.

The red-headed boy saw the tears in her eyes. What was wrong? What made her cry? He slowly reached his hand and wiped the new formed tears. He saw her eyes widen. The next thing he saw was her long red hair.

Blossom hugged him tightly. It wasn't a dream! He was alive! Thank God! She held him tightly and she felt him returning the hug.

"Thanks!" he whispered in her ear. She smiled, relaxing a bit. To her, everything was perfect in the world.

Far away from there, in the crystal forest, the silver-headed girl was smiling lightly at the events she was watching in the river's water.

"For the moment everything will be just fine." she gently said playing with the clear water.

* * *

Hey! I'm done with chapter 7! I hope you liked it (Especially you Lil Fang)!

I'm sorry if I misspelled anything!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to write these weeks, I have a lot of homework, but I'll do my best and try to update soon.

See ya' in chapter 8!


	8. The crystal's story

Hey everyone! I'm back! Took me long enough, huh? Yeah! Yeah! I know, but I had a lot of freakin' exams and I had to study, study, study and again study. Oh and it's not over yet: I have a History exam this Friday and I feel like my brain is empty!

At least I have my stories to relax a bit, 'cause if it weren't for them I would've gone insane by now.

This story is dedicated to my wonderful cousins Mara and Irina (yrynna).

Thank you very much BC chan, CamillaMB, Lil Fang, Hampsterofdestruction, SOENergetic, Mitzy, Dennis Gerbera and Jim for reviewing at the last chapter! You're sweet!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Power Puff Girls, but I do own the plot and my little Bellatrix.

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 8: The crystal's story 

That night none of the kids managed to get any sleep. They were so happy. They felt like nothing could happen now. Or at least they hoped so.

The Professor said that the boys could stay with them. They got the guests' room, but the girls didn't have time to show them anything else of the house because the Professor sent them to bed so fast that you'd think it was the end of the world if they didn't go to sleep. They had to listen to him even though they weren't tired. They said good night and jumped into bed.

In their bed, the girls were lost in thoughts.

Buttercup closed her eyes for a few seconds thinking how to start a conversation. She knew her sisters weren't sleeping and she couldn't stand the silence.

"I think this is the best thing that happened in weeks." The brunette said opening her eyes. She wasn't really sure why she said that, but that was how she felt.

"You're right!" Bubbles said dreamily, her mind wondering back to the moment when she was in her counterpart's arms. She had a wide smile on her face.

"If you ask me, this was our greatest victory." Blossom said her voice only a bit over a whisper, her eyes still closed.

"What do you mean?" the brunette asked a little confused.

"We managed to get some of our greatest enemies to come on our side. I think this is the best thing we've ever done." she said with the tone of a teacher that was explaining a new thing to her class.

"Is that the only thing that matters for you?" Buttercup said a little annoyed by her sister's answer.

"Yeah Bloss. You can't be serious!" Bubbles joined.

"Maybe. Or maybe not. I don't know girls." The red head whispered. She was staring at the ceiling, but she couldn't really see it. She was trying to figure out what she felt. She didn't even know what she thought about the whole thing.

Her sisters looked at her. They couldn't understand what was going on in the Pink Puff's head very well, but then again they never did. Bubbles opened her mouth to say something but Buttercup covered it with her hand. Maybe she didn't know what Blossom was thinking about, but she knew that if she wanted to say something she would do it without them asking any questions.

But Blossom didn't say anything, not a single word. She closed her eyes and pulled the covers over her head. Then the other two girls knew she wasn't going to talk about it so they closed their eyes and fell asleep.

But Blossom didn't fall asleep. At least not for real. She was in the crystal forest again. But this time she wasn't fascinated by it. She was scared and confused at the same time and she felt something else, but she couldn't quite place it.

"You don't have to hate this place only because it started here." the red head heard her friend's voice.

Blossom turned around and looked in the girl's purple eyes. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She could have told her that she didn't hate the forest, that she didn't believe it all started there, but that would've been lying and she knew it. Somewhere deep inside her heart she knew that was what she thought.

"Why not?" she asked instead.

"Because..." the silver haired girl started. She paused for a second thinking about what she was going to say. She knew those words could be the most powerful thing in the world. She didn't want to do anything wrong.

"... it didn't." she finished.

Blossom looked in the other girl's eyes trying to see something in there, something that would tell her more, but the only thing she could see was fear. It intrigued her. Why would Bellatrix be scared? Scared of what? Finally she decided that she couldn't find out anything from her friend's eyes, so she opted for simpler way.

"I don't understand." She said in a firm voice. And she didn't. She couldn't see anything rational in Bella's words. How could it not have started there? It was the place where she practically lived her dream. It was there where she decided that it was more about Brick than meets the eye. And she was right: he could be good, she saw it in his eyes, when they were together and she felt it. She didn't want to think of that because she couldn't understand a thing of what she was feeling. Maybe it was because she never felt like that before. She didn't know and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

"I know" the purple eyed girl said in a gentle voice. "But you will. I will explain later. Now we have more important things to think about." she said in a more serious voice.

Blossom looked at her friend. What serious things could she be talking about? The boys were O.K., Townsville was safe. What could it be?

"There's something else here, huh?" she said in a surprisingly calm tone for all the mess that was in her head.

"Yeah! I'm sure of it." Bellatrix answered.

Blossom looked in the girl's eyes and then she turned to study the forest surrounding her. Her eyes stopped on a big hole, not too far from the little river. Her heart stopped for a second, she knew the place. It was the spot Brick landed when she hit him in the dream, if it really was a dream.

Her mouth opened but she couldn't say anything. She closed her eyes trying to find her words, to find her question, to find her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Bellatrix was looking at the Pink Puff, trying to read her thoughts. But it was a total chaos in her mind and she couldn't see anything else but questions, questions that didn't make any sense. But she managed to pick up one. Her eyes widened. Whoever said "Knowledge is power" hit the spot.

"But now it's not the time..." the silver headed girl thought. Her eyes began to glow in a dim light.

Blossom felt a strange sensation in her head. It made her dizzy and messed things up even more in her mind. The next moment everything was over and she opened her eyes. She looked at her friend, who was back to normal before she could notice anything.

"How did he get in here?" the pink eyed girl asked.

Bellatrix looked at her friend a few seconds as if trying to decide whether to tell her or not. "Well this could be useful for her to know, as long as we don't go into dangerous details..." the taller girl thought.

"Do you remember that crystal HIM had?"

"Yes, I do"

"Well, that's how th-he got here." The purple eyed girl said mentally kicking herself for almost telling her she wasn't the only one that had a "dream" with the boys in the exact, same place. Hell, all three sisters had the same dream. This could really make the Pink Puff's mind wonder on dangerous paths.

"What's so special about that crystal?"

Bellatrix made a big effort to hide her sigh of relief. She had to congratulate herself for earning so much trust from Blossom since she came... since she found her. She began reflecting over the subject again. Maybe she shouldn't tell her… "Ah! To Hell with it!" she thought. "It's a long story" the silver haired girl said.

"I have time." Blossom answered.

The taller girl smiled: "O.K., I'm going to tell you a story that hasn't been told in thousands of years."

Blossom looked at her with a curious look on her face. She couldn't help it. She just had to know.

"A long time ago, too long for anyone to count, when the Universe was still young and there was no Good or Evil, jut one vast world where all the creatures lived with the spirits..." she stopped a second and looked at the girl in front of her. She had an amused look on her face.

"Do I need a pillow?" she asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, shut up! You know I can't come up with a good beginning for a story to save my life!" the purple eyed girl commented.

"O.K., I promise I won't fall asleep before you get to the interesting part." The red head said with a smirk on her face.

"Well... in that world... something happened. Something entered the spirits' and beings' minds and hearts: pain, despair, hate. But they didn't come alone; pleasure, hope and love came with them. They divided the Universe in two sides. But they were stricter than they are now. No one in one of the sides was allowed to feel anything that was known to be specific to the other side. It was a real chaos. They rarely got to the point of actually facing in battle like you do. No, they tried to get more and more people on their side. It didn't mater if those people had chosen a path or not."

"They grew more powerful every time they got someone new on their side?" the Pink Puff asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. That was the way they battled."

"What happened with the ones that didn't respect the 'feeling rule'?" Blossom asked again.

"In the Evil side they were killed. In the Good side they were given another chance to come back or were exiled. It depended on the gravity of what they did." The taller girl said.

"But they united." The Pink Puff said more to herself than to her friend.

"Yes, they did." Came the response.

The red head opened her mouth to ask something else. But she stopped remembering something that Bellatrix told her some time ago.

"Why?" she asked simply.

The silver haired girl smiled: "Always 'why?' before 'how?' huh?"

"You taught me that, remember?" Blossom said.

"But you forgot this lesson." The inhabitant of the crystal forest commented.

The red headed girl looked away. Her friend was right: she forgot that lesson so many times and when she really needed it too. She reflected at what had recently happened. She realized that she was making the same mistake: she asked "how?" before "why?" She sighed. "Nothing to do about it now…" she thought.

"You were telling me a story." The pink eyed girl remarked.

"Yeah. Well, the ones on the Evil side found a way to win the war. It was a magical mirror which could absorb anything: things, people, souls, feelings, into nothingness. But a great amount of concentration and self control was needed even to approach the mirror, because it had hidden powers that were very dangerous." The girl stopped to look at her friend. This time you could see she was interested in what she was hearing.

"They chose someone to handle it: a girl. She was young, not more than 15. But she had a great power; she just had to learn to use it. She was sent to The Black Rose Temple to learn to control the new weapon."

"What was her name?" the red head asked.

"Fubuki" the other girl answered.

"Snow storm?" the red haired girl asked.

"Yes." Bellatrix closed her eyes. She smiled "You know, some say that the only thing that wasn't white about her was the color of her eyes: those were black."

"They didn't pass unnoticed, huh?" Blossom said with a little smile.

The silver headed girl opened her eyes and looked in the other girl's pink orbs. There was so much curiosity in them. She wanted to know more about Fubuki, she could tell this from the little spark in her eyes. But she couldn't tell her more, not now.

"This plan didn't remain unknown to the Good side for too long. They found out that "The White Demon" (that's what they used to call Fubuki) was training to use a new weapon, one more powerful than any other thing. They sent Kai, a 15 year old boy, to find out more about this.

Kai was a great actor so it wasn't too hard for him to convince the ones on the Evil side he was one of them. However, it took him long enough to convince the Evil leaders to send him to The Black Rose Temple. When he finally arrived there, he found that no guardian was allowed inside. After some time of being there he found a secret entrance. He went in and he found Fubuki at the heart of the Temple, in a room full of black roses.

No one knows what happened after that. But in time they fell in love with each other. Neither of them admitted, though. Fubuki found out who Kai was, but she never said anything, she didn't care.

Kai taught Fubuki lhow to hope, to be happy, to love. But she couldn't forget what she knew from the moment she was born: pain, sadness, hate. Everything was part of her now. She couldn't help it. She knew that the day her training will come to an end was coming fast.

Kai told her to give up her training many times, but she knew it was impossible. When the "Big day" came he asked her if she wanted to come with him, on the Good side. This question made her blush..."

"You can't actually know that" the red head interrupted her friend.

"Well, I don't know, but that's what I would do if I got a question like this from the one I love." The silver haired girl said slightly blushing.

"No problem. I understood most of the story." Blossom answered.

"Most of it?"

"Yeah. But there are some things I just can't understand."

Bellatrix was a little curious about what her friend had on mind. And she would've really liked to hear it from her mouth; she hated to always get in her mind to find something. Her thoughts were interrupted by the younger girl's voice.

"She never chose a side, huh?"

The silver headed girl raised her eyes to look at her friend. She almost asked how she knew, but then she remembered who she was talking to. Blossom was smarter that anyone could imagine. She had had the chance to convince herself of that.

"Yes. You're right. She never did choose a side." Bellatix said. "She knew that running away from the Evil side was a very difficult thing to do even with her all power.

When her training ended the Evil leaders decided to attack the Good side on the first Full Moon. That was just a week away. Fubuki went in the chamber where the mirror was kept. She stayed there the whole week. At first she thought that Kai might be angry with her, but then she remembered his nature: Kai wouldn't get mad with her even if she tried to kill him. It was a real mystery how he remained the way he was after all that time spent with the Evil ones."

"That sounds kinda' impossible." The Pink Puff commented.

"You don't believe in a pure hart?" the silver headed girl asked in a childish tone.

"Do I look like an angel?" the red head said in a sarcastic tone.

"Well, from this angle..."

"Oh, shut up and continue the story!"

"All right. Well, like I said Fubuki stayed in the mirror's room the whole week. She was trying to find a way to make the others see that the two sides mustn't be separated. She managed to see this only after she learned to feel like the Good ones. But she didn't dismiss her other feelings either."

"What did she do in that chamber?" the red haired girl asked.

"She made a plan and she prepared herself to put it into action.

When the day came, the Evil leaders called everyone on their side to see their final victory. They invaded the Good side's territory. Fubuki was going to act after they reached the heart of their land. Before that she saw Kai. He had a calm look on his face. She managed to whisper "Thank you" to him. Then she put her plan into action.

She absorbed the feelings of the Good ones and the Evil ones alike. They mixed in the mirror. Then, when she thought everything was ready, she broke the mirror. Good and bad feelings went back to all the ones there, but not like in the beginning. Now everyone had their good side and their bad side."

"What does this have to do with that crystal?" the Pink Puff asked.

"The mirror broke into millions of little pieces. However, each one had the full power of the whole mirror and something more from Fubuki. I can't really explain this but I'll do my best. You see, if someone has a part of the old mirror, it will take its power from that person's feelings. If they are evil it will do evil and if they're good it will do good."

"That crystal is a piece of the mirror?" the red headed girl said.

"Well it has one piece in it."

"Is what happened to the boys something usual for these things?"

"I can't say if it's usual or not, because none of the pieces react in the same way. It all depends on the one who's giving it power."

Blossom remained silent a few moments. Then: "I'll think about this." And she left.

In her room, under the covers she thought about all she heard. But one question kept bothering her.

"What happened to Fubuki?"

She fell asleep thinking about this.

* * *

O.K.! That's all for now! So what do you think? Kinda' lame, huh? Sorry! But I just had to write that. Oh and sorry Lil Fang, but no violence in this chapter!

I know that this chapter was mainly about Blossom and Bellatrix, but hey: Bella is the one that knows the story and Blossom is the one that can actually talk to her. And besides, if you ask me Blossom is the best!

Oh well, that's that. See ya' in the next chapter! (I can't help it Jim, it's a habit!)


	9. It's not over yet

Hi everyone! I'm finally done with chapter 9! Yey! I didn't think this story would be so long but I kinda' changed the plot (I had something else in mind for the ending) so it'll be a little longer.

Sorry if I made you wait, but I'm in the 8th grade and I have to study a lot, and I have tones of homework and I don't get the chance to write too much. And I think mom has a problem with me writing stories now. Oh, life's not fair!

Although I changed the plot I didn't change the dedication: this story is for my cousins Mara and Irina (yrynna).

Now I'd like to thank Lil Fang, Katty, BC chan, CamillaMB, Whoever i am, Dennis Gerbera and Jim for reviewing my last chapter! You're the best guys!

**Disclaimer: **Is this really necessary? Oh, alright: I don't own the Power Puff Girls although I wish I did.

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 9: It's not over yet

Despite it being a cloudy morning, it was very hot. This wasn't unusual in Townsville, especially in the summer, but it was one thing Brick hated about the town.

"Man it's hot!" he growled. Then he looked at his brothers. They were sleeping, undisturbed by the morning heat.

"How the Hell can they sleep with this heat?" he thought somewhat irritated.

"Oh well..." he said and got out of bed. He looked around the room. It looked normal, but he liked it. "I think it's the first normal place I've ever slept in" he thought getting out of the room.

"Maybe Blossom's up." He thought.

He walked to the girls' bedroom and slowly opened the door. He couldn't really see anything. He saw Buttercup sleeping with a little smile on her face and behind her was something that looked like Bubbles' arm.

"Or maybe she's still sleeping." He thought.

He closed the door and went downstairs. He had a lot of things to think about. He couldn't really understand what happened. He didn't even know how he survived that thing HIM did to him. What was that crystal the demon always had with him, anyway?

"Brick?" a voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and saw Blossom sitting on the sofa with a book in her hand.

"Why aren't you asleep?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same question" he said.

"I always get up early and read." She answered. "You?"

"I can't sleep with this heat." He said sitting down next to her. "What are you reading?"

"'The Green Mile' by Stephen King." She answered simply.

"What's it about?" he asked. He wanted to ask her what she thought about what happened, but he didn't know how to do this. So he continued to ask her different questions, hopping that they'll eventually get to the subject.

"It's 'bout an old jail guardian who remembers his 'adventures' while doing his job." She raised her head from the book to look at him. Their eyes met. She saw that he wasn't really interested in what she was saying. He was waiting for something, she could see that. She smiled.

"It's really weird. I'm not very sure myself." She said in a low tone.

"What?" the red headed boy asked. "This is a really strange way to describe a book." He thought.

"Come one, Brick. I know you aren't too interested in what I'm saying about this book." She said smiling and holding the book in her hand.

"I... well... um... no... I..." he mumbled, slightly blushing.

"Don't worry. This doesn't upset me." She said with a sad smile. "I'm used to it." She thought. "Now we have more important things to think about." She continued, looking in his eyes.

"Yeah." He whispered. "The crystal" he thought. "You know, that crystal HIM had..." he began.

Blossom opened her mouth to say something, but she closed it back. She didn't know how to say it.

"... it's some kind of power source..." he said not really sure how to continue.

"When he attacked you..." the girl said "... it was the first time I've ever seen it. He didn't get it long ago, huh?"

"Well, he had it for some time." The boy said. Then a particular episode came in his mind.

"Did you ever hear something about the "chosen one"?" he asked, sounding very serious.

"'The chosen one'? No. Why?" came the response.

"Because HIM's after this "chosen one"." He said. He looked at her and saw the curiosity in her eyes. He smiled "She looks so pretty." he thought. Then he realized what just ran through his mind and mentally kicked himself "Man I'm going insane!"

"I saw HIM once..." he said "... he was talking to someone. I couldn't see who he was talking to, but I could hear them clearly." He paused trying to remember what happened as accurately as possible.

"Well?" the girl asked. She was really curious now.

"HIM looked like he was scared and the other guy seemed very angry."

Flashback

_In a dark cave-like room, the only source of light was something that looked like a portal. The weak golden light made the room look even more sinister. In front of the portal was a dark figure, standing with his back at the only source of light. Two meters away was HIM, with a terrified look on his face._

"_I will fulfill my mission. I just need more time." HIM said, his voice shaky._

"_You had time! It's almost three__ years since you came here!" the dark figure responded in a low tone._

"_I can't do much with those Power Puffs around, ruining my plans." HIM tried to excuse himself._

"_Any obstacle must be destroyed and you know that. If you can't do it then maybe you aren't good enough for us." The dark figure said in a cold voice._

"_NO! I will find the chosen one! Trust me! I can do it!" HIM said in a desperate tone._

"_You'd better! You know the consequences of failure." The dark figure said. Then he took a circular crystal from some kind of pocket in his black robe. He gave it to HIM._

"_Be careful with this." The figure said. "It will give you enough power to destroy the obstacles. It is, however, very dangerous because it was kept in pure evil."_

"_Thank you." HIM said in a weak tone._

"_Don't thank me. If it were__ up to me I would've disposed of you since your first mistake!" the dark figure said in a very cold tone. "Things aren't like they used to be!" he sighted._

_Then he turned around and walked to the golden source of light. But before he went in he stopped and said in a very scary tone: "Remember if you fail I'll personally take care of you!" After that he disappeared in the portal. Darkness conquered the room._

End of flashback

"This was the day HIM brought us back." Brick ended his story and looked away. Blossom was looking at him. A part of her was waiting to hear more, but the other part knew that he was done. She closed her eyes and sighed. The boy turned to look at her.

She stood up and went in the kitchen. He followed her. When he got in the kitchen she was looking for something in the fridge.

"You hungry?" she asked taking something out of the fridge and closing the door.

Brick opened his mouth to ask how she could think of food after what he told her.

"I know what you're thinking. You told me a very interesting thing and I need to think about it, but I can't if I just stay on the sofa." She said with a little grin on her face. "My mind works better if I do something while I'm thinking. So I thought I'd cook breakfast."

"O.K." the boy said without taking his gaze off her. He wondered in what way his story was interesting. He wished Blossom would talk about it. He wanted to understand, not to get even more confused. She fascinated him and intrigued him. He couldn't understand the way she was thinking. Again something interrupted his thoughts.

"Mornin'!" Buttercup said sleepily entering the kitchen.

"Well look who's here: Miss Don't-you-dare-wake-me-up-before-11A.M.-or-you're-gona'-be-so-dead." Blossom said with a grin on her face.

"Oh shut up! I didn't get out of bed at 7.30 in the morning to listen to your smart talk!" the brunette said.

"Then why'd you did it?" the Pink puff asked.

"Uh, Bubbles has to learn to stay on her side of the bed." The Green Puff said placing her hand on her back, suggesting that it still hurt.

"I didn't hear screams." Blossom said more to herself. "I hope you didn't do anything tragic, Buttercup."

"No, not this time. I'm way too tired to do anything. And you're cooking. I wouldn't miss this in a thousand years." Then she turned to Brick: "She's the greatest chef in the whole world."

"Really?" he asked forgetting his thoughts for a second.

"Buttercup!" the red headed girl said, amused and irritated at the same time.

"What?" the brunette asked trying to pull the puppy-dog face, but she was already laughing so she couldn't do much. Brick was laughing too.

"Shut up and call the others. Breakfast is ready." Blossom said smiling.

"All right, all right, I'm going." Buttercup said walking out the room still laughing.

The brunette went up stairs then stopped for a second. Should she wake the boys or Bubbles first? It didn't take her more then a few moments to decide. She flew towards the guest's room. "After all, Blossom didn't say that I have to wake everyone up." She thought.

She went in and stopped next to the bed. She looked at the two sleeping boys. They looked so peaceful that no one could guess that just a day before they were notorious villains.

Her eyes landed on Butch. She smiled while studying his features. There was nothing of the old Rowdy Ruff that always made her so mad. It was a different person there, but then again it was the same. No, it was the real him. She didn't know how or why, but she was sure that he had been like this from the very beginning. "If only I wasn't so blind." She thought. Usually she wouldn't decide so quickly who her friends would be, but something in her mind told her that she could trust him. They could be very good friends.

Without really paying attention to what she was doing, she placed her hand on his cheek. That moment he opened his eyes and looked at her. It took her a few seconds to realize what was happening.

"Hey!" she said, slightly blushing and taking her hand from his cheek.

"Morning already?" he asked getting up.

"Yeah! We can't do anything about it" she said happy that he didn't say anything about what just happened.

"Not fair!" He said looking at Boomer who was still sleeping. He pushed his brother off the bed.

"OW!" the blonde boy said. Then he looked at the two brunettes. "What was that for?" he asked a bit annoyed by the way he had been woken up.

"It was the only way to get your lazy ass out of bed." Butch said smiling. Buttercup giggled.

"Yeah right." Boomer said getting on his feet.

"Hey guys, breakfast is ready and I don't think we should be late." The girl said. "Oh and Boomer, could you go and wake Bubbles? Maybe you'll have more luck than I did."

"O.K." the Blue Ruff answered flying out the room as fast as he could so the other two wouldn't see him blush.

He quietly entered the girls' room. "Wow, this is certainly a girls' room" he said to himself looking around. Then he spotted Bubbles sleeping peacefully. He walked closer to the bed trying not to make any noise. He forgot that he had to wake her up.

"Why the Hell did I ever hate you for?" he whispered while studying her sleeping form. She had her hair in her usual pig-tails but they were slightly ruffed, this and the little smile she had on her face giving her a angelic look.

He brushed away some locks of hair from her face. He sat down next to her stroking her cheek. He was so absorbed of the 'angel' in front of him that he didn't notice he was blushing furiously.

Bubbles slowly opened her eyes and saw Boomer next to her.

"Boomer?" she said trying to figure out if this was real or she was still dreaming.

"Yeah?" he answered thinking of what he could say. "Um... breakfast is ready. We should go down stairs." He said. "Great Boomer. Really smart." He thought.

"Oh, O.K." she answered getting up.

She stopped for a second and looked at him. "Boomer?" she said.

"Yeah?" he answered wondering what she was going to say.

"Never mind. Lets go." She said walking towards the door.

They went down stairs and saw that everyone was already there.

"Hey! What took you two so long?" Brick asked looking up from his plate.

"Are you joking?" Buttercup said. "This is a record! It usually takes me half an hour to wake Bubbles."

"Hey! Shut up!" Bubbles said pretending to be upset. She and Boomer took a seat at the table and began eating. The meal went on without any 'incidents'. When he was done, the Professor stood up.

"That was great dear." He told Blossom.

"Thanks Professor." She smiled at him.

"Alright kids! I have some work to do so I'm going in the lab. Try not to kill each other." He said smiling.

Blossom watched him until he closed the lab's door. Then she turned to the others. They were really quiet and she could tell they were waiting for someone to bring up the subject.

"This isn't over yet." She said after taking a deep breath.

Everyone turned their attention to her. She looked at them. They were waiting to hear more. "Should I tell them about the mirror and Fubuki too?" she thought. "No! That would mean telling them about Bellatrix and I really don't want to do this." He mentally responded to her question.

"I'm sure that if he didn't have something ready for us in case this happened, then he probably came up with something by now." She said in a calm tone.

"And what makes you so sure of this?" Buttercup asked her sister.

"Well..." Blossom began, and she told them what Brick had told her that morning. When she was done everyone was quiet. The first one to speak was Boomer.

"You didn't tell us that!" he told Brick.

"Hey! I forgot about it. I just remembered it this morning." He said.

"Yeah! And we have to be ready. From what Brick has told me, that dark figure was really serious and HIM wasn't very keen on the idea. I don't think he's gonna' give up just like that." The red headed girl said.

"But, Blossom, HIM said that crystal thing was feeding on the boys' energy. If they're O.K. now it means that the bond that was between them and the crystal was broken." Buttercup said.

"Yeah! And that means the crystal thingy has been destroyed." Butch said. "He doesn't have anything to hit us with now."

"Oh you don't know how wrong you are." The Pink Puff thought looking at the green eyed pair. "Maybe you're right with the crystal, but..." she said and she looked at her sisters "... we know HIM. He can be really tricky. He didn't need that crystal to be a threat before. Why would he need it now?"

"Because we're six now." Bubbles said.

"Yeah, we're six now, but remember that our biggest battles with HIM weren't direct fights. And I don't think that he'll really care how many we are if he's planning to use some of his tricks." The red haired girl said.

"Oh I hate it when she's right!" Buttercup thought irritated.

"But Blossom, HIM tried a lot of tricks until now and we were able beat him." Bubbles said a little afraid of what her sister could answer.

"Yes, Bubbles, but now he'll be more motivated then ever." The red headed girl said.

"What do you mean?" Brick asked looking at her with curious eyes.

"It hasn't been a very short time since he brought you back and from what you told me that dark figure wasn't going to wait for a long time. I think that giving you that power was some kind of desperate act: HIM knew that he was running out of time and he tried something radical. Now that this didn't work, he has to find something quick and I'm sure he already found it. Or at least something to buy some more time." Blossom said. She looked at the other super powered kids. She knew that they were trying to find something to prove she was wrong. She herself wanted to do it, but she knew she was right. Then a familiar sound interrupted their thoughts.

BEEEEP BEEEP BEEEEEP

Blossom looked in the direction of the sound's source for a moment, just to make sure it wasn't her imagination. After a second she realized that it was real and she flew out the kitchen to answer.

A few minutes later she came back. "There're problems in the town!" she announced. She saw the hesitation on the others' faces and she knew that they were thinking at. "Maybe I should've kept my thoughts to myself." She thought. "Come one! Let's go! We won't solve anything if we just stay here!" she said. The others nodded and flew off.

* * *

O.K. I'm done with that! Sorry if you didn't like it but I'm sick. No! I'm not sick of this story! Oh my God! It's going snow in Hell the day I get sick of this story! I have a cold and I hate it. But thinking about it again I don't know when I would've been able to write this chapter if I didn't have to stay home because of this cursed cold.

Now I gotta' go 'cause my mum's gonna' kill me if she finds out I'm not in bed!

See ya' in the next chapter! Hopefully I'll get better by then.

**P.S.: **I promise Lil Fang that there's gonna' be violence in the next chapter! :D


	10. Out of Control

Hi everyone! I'm soooooo terribly sorry that I made you wait so long. And this time it's not just because of my teachers giving me a hard time at school. The original chapter 10 would've been up 2 weeks ago but my computer broke down. Then, when I got it fixed I kinda' decided that the chapter wasn't good enough so I decided to rewrite it into two chapters. Here's the first one. The second one is half-way done and since I'm almost done with my homework I think I'll be able to update it in a few days.

I'd like to say thanks to CamillaMB, SithKnight-Galen, GimGimGim, Dennis Gerbera, Jim, starlight wishes and biornot for reviewing the last chapter. You're great guys!

This story is dedicated to the best cousins of all: Mara and Irina.

**Disclaimer:** O.K., did you see someone in the Power Puff Girls show die in unimaginable pain? Or did you see Blossom in black? No! You didn't! That means I don't own the show!

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 10: Out of control

The six super-powered kids flew in town as fast as they could. If someone could've looked into their minds he could've seen some interesting thoughts that were, somehow, very alike.

The blondes weren't really thinking of where they were going. They just followed the others. They were thinking of what the Pink Puff told them just a few minutes ago. They couldn't really understand everything. There were still things that they couldn't figure out. They thought of asking each other what they thought, but every time their eyes met they had to turn their heads to hide their blush.

The brunettes weren't really thinking at all. In their case, their feelings had priority. Anger mostly. They were angry because of what HIM had done and what he was going to do. They wouldn't admit it, but they were rather scared of what the demon could do. So they hid it. And what would make a better mask than anger? It was a feeling that they were known for, so why not use it?

The red heads' brains were working very fast. They were trying to find answers for many questions that were working their way to their minds. The boy was sure that his counterpart was doing way better than him. In fact he had a weird feeling that she knew more than she had told them. The girl, indeed, knew more. She knew about the crystal, what it was and, in part, how it worked. She had many ideas about the whole thing, but that was the only thing that they were: ideas. She didn't have enough proof to consider them facts. So she dismissed every one of them. She wished she could talk to Bellatrix, but she knew that if she went in the crystal forest she'd stay there for hours. And she didn't have that time. She looked at the Red Ruff. She was surprised to find that he was looking at her too. He had a questioning look in his eyes. He looked worried one too. She smiled at him giving him an everything-will-be-OK look. He smiled back.

When they got to town they couldn't believe their eyes. Almost half of it was completely destroyed. When did this happen? It hadn't taken them so long to get there.

"When did the fucking freak have the time to do all this?" Butch asked exasperated.

It took Buttercup all the self-control she could manage to stop herself from bursting into laughter. Was Butch jealous of HIM? She remembered that in all the time he was a villain he had never done so much damage to the city. "Men's pride." She silently sighed.

"No idea." Boomer said, staring at the destroyed buildings.

Blossom was, too, studying the surroundings. She had a strange feeling that gave her a headache. She wasn't sure why she was feeling like this. She had been in such a position before. But now it was different, something was wrong. There was something very weird about the landscape. Now there was a strange energy rising from the ruins. It was 10 a.m. but the place was awfully dark. It reminded her of... her dream. The town looked like the crystal forest after she kissed her counterpart.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by her blonde sister: "So… what now?"

Blossom opened her mouth to say something, but Brick was faster than her: "We're gonna' find the damn idiot and kick the shit out of him."

"Yeah!" all the kids except the red heads exclaimed.

All except Blossom started to fly in different directions. "Wait!" she said making all of them turn around. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Well, if we spilt up we could cover a larger area." Brick said, wondering why she reacted like that.

"Can't you see that if each of us goes in a different direction, we'll be alone and this will make HIM's job a lot easier?" she asked looking at her friends.

"What do you suggest?" the brunette girl asked crossing her arms.

"We'll work in pairs." The pink eyed girl said. "Buttercup, Butch, you take the west part of the town. Bubbles, Boomer, you take the east part. Brick, we'll take the center of the town." She finished, reminding the others of an army general.

"O.K." Bubbles said.

"Let's get moving!" Butch said, with a smile on his face.

They flew off, heading in the directions Blossom indicated. They all wanted to find HIM and make him regret the day he was born, but something made them worried, and they couldn't understand what that thing was.

The brunettes went west. For a while they were quiet, not knowing what to say.

Buttercup felt rather strange. She was so angry she could kill anyone who would happen to cross her path. But she wasn't really sure why. She told herself that it was because of HIM, but a part of her knew that there was something else. She looked around as she flew, trying to find injured people and to distract herself from her disturbing thoughts.

Butch studied what was left of the town. He couldn't understand how someone could do so much damage in so little time. It made him go insane. If HIM could do such a thing then why the Hell did he bring his brothers and him back?! Why didn't he do this in the first place? He sighed, it was impossible.

He turned his eyes to look at the green eyed girl that was flying next to him. She was angry, he could tell that. "She's so cute when she's angry." He thought. When he realized what he had just thought he, literally, punched himself.

She turned to look at him. "What's wrong?" she asked gazing in his deep emerald eyes. "Oh my God..." she thought. Her eyes widened "Don't think anything stupid Buttercup. Don't you even dare!" she thought taking her eyes off him.

"Nothing" he said, doing his best not to blush. "What about you?" he asked, noticing the look on her face.

"Umm... nothing." She said. "Just that you have the most gorgeous eyes I've ever seen." She thought. She blushed deep red at her thought and turned her head, so he wouldn't see her. Then something caught her eye.

"Hey! Look!" she pointed at one of the few buildings that were still in one piece (well, almost). There were some kids in that building: one girl and two boys that seemed older than her. The brunettes headed towards them.

"Hey! You three!" Buttercup shouted, gaining their attention. The three seemed very happy to see her, but their happiness disappeared when they saw Butch.

"Buttercup! Watch out! Behind you!" the brown haired girl yelled.

The green eyed girl turned around as quick as she could, but she only saw Butch with a confused look on his face.

"Oh, right." The girl said. "I forgot. They don't know you guys changed your minds."

"That explains it." He said looking at the three kids. "Maybe I shouldn't go with you."

"Are you crazy? How the Hell do you think that they'll get the picture if you just sit back and don't do anything?" she said taking his hand. "Come on, let's go!"

They headed down. The kids watched with frightened looks on their faces as the Green Ruff followed the raven haired superhero. When they landed Buttercup opened her mouth to ask what happened, but she stopped when she noticed the looks on the kids' faces. Butch saw this and decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Hey, stop giving me that freaking look. My bros' and I changed our minds and we're not with the bad guys any more, O.K.?" the green eyed boy said. This managed to calm the kids and make Buttercup smile at her counterpart.

"Butch, this is Alex..." she said pointing at one of the boys that had black hair, big brown eyes and wore dark blue jeans and a green t-shirt, "... this is Jeff..." she continued pointing at the other boy who had brown hair, sky blue eyes and wore black pants and a dark blue t-shirt, "... and this is his sister Kisha." She ended pointing to the girl who had brown hair and sky blue eyes like his brother and wore light blue jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Hi!" the Ruff said giving them a smile.

"Hi!" the other boys said smiling too.

The younger girl looked suspiciously at Butch. She wasn't totally convinced. "Why did you change your mind?" she asked looking in his green eyes.

The boy stood silent a few moments. He wasn't really sure if he should tell. Some parts were very personal and he wasn't about to tell a little girl about them.

"It's a long story and we don't have very much time for it right now." The Green Puff said when she saw the look on her counterpart's face.

Butch nodded giving Buttercup a "thank you" look. "What happened here?" he asked looking around.

"Well, we're not really sure" Alex began. "HIM appeared out of nowhere and said something about his revenge and finding someone."

"Yeah, and then he used some kind of crystal and a big light appeared..." Jeff continued his friend's story.

"And then it came and started destroying everything in sight." Kisha finished.

"It? You mean HIM?" the brunette girl asked a little confused.

"No! That!" Jeff said frightened pointing somewhere behind the two super-powered kids.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

The blondes went east carefully looking around for anything strange. Well, at least Bubbles was. Boomer was staring at her, studying her figure. "She looks so pretty" he thought. "Just like she looked that night..." his thoughts continued, drifting to the night he went in her dream and to... "... when we kissed." He blushed at the memory. He wondered how she felt about that.

"Bubbles?" he said. He wanted to ask her. She turned her head to look at him. When he saw the look on her face he decided that it would be better not to. He quickly searched for something to ask.

"Do you think I'm evil?" he asked. "Oh great Boomer, that was really smart of you." She thought mentally kicking himself.

"Of course not Boomer, why should I think something like that?" she smiled.

"I... well... when I was on HIM's side, did you think I was evil?" he said trying not to sound stupid.

The girl stayed silent for a few minutes. "That's it, I said the most stupid thing ever! She'll hate me." Boomer thought sadly.

"I never really thought about this before." She said in a low voice. Boomer was listening like she was God himself. "But I don't think that I've ever thought that you were evil. I thought that you were mean, but not evil." She said looking in his eyes.

He smiled at her. "Yey! She doesn't hate me!" he thought flying closer to her and their hands touched "by accident". They both blushed and looked away.

"Huh? What's that?" Boomer asked pointing at a damaged building.

"Oh, God! That's the school!" Bubbles said, fear visible in her eyes.

"Let's check it out!" Boomer said putting his hand on her shoulder. She looked in his eyes and tried to smile.

The two blondes flew towards the half-destroyed school. They easily made their way inside.

Boomer started to look around. Bubbles had another way to search.

"Hello! Is anybody here? Miss Keane? Are you here?" the girl shouted.

Suddenly the boy heard something like a grunt. He listened and he heard it again. He went to the place form which he heard it and saw a black haired woman, under a broken desk.

"Bubbles! Here!" he yelled even if they were in the same room.

"Uhh!" The woman started to wake up, opening her deep blue eyes. When she saw him she startled and tried to get up, but she was still under the broken desk and she couldn't move.

"Miss Keane!" Bubbles screamed when she saw the woman.

"Bubbles!" Miss Keane said and turned her eyes to the boy next to her, with a frighten look in her sky blue eyes.

Bubbles saw this and started to explain. "Miss Keane, don't be afraid. He's with me."

"Really?" the woman asked looking at the blonde boy.

"Yes..." he nodded and paused for a moment to remember her name "... Miss Keane." He finished.

"How did this happen?" the black haired woman asked looking at the two.

"Well, it's a long story." Boomer said while Bubbles was helping the teacher to get up. "The girls convinced me and my brothers to come on the Good side." He said looking in the woman's blue eyes.

She smiled at him. "He looks so innocent, just like Bubbles" she thought. "That's very nice." She said.

"Miss Keane, what happened here?" Bubbles asked looking around.

"Well, I remember that HIM's imagine appeared in the sky while I was here looking through some homework. He said that he'll have his revenge and something about finding someone." She began. "Then he took something that looked like a crystal and a bright light appeared. Then, after a few seconds it showed up..." she trailed off staring somewhere behind the two children.

"What showed up?" Boomer asked confused. Then he saw the look on her face and followed her gaze.

"That." The woman said.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

The two red heads flew to the center of the town in a silence that made Brick very uncomfortable. "This whole thing is like a puzzle. And there are too many missing pieces." He thought.

"Hey, Blossom?" he said.

"Yes?"

"What do you think about all this?" he asked.

"You asked me the same question this morning." She answered, her voice emotionless.

"Yeah, I know." He sighted.

"But there are too many missing pieces at this puzzle, huh?" she said smiling sadly.

"How did you-" he began amazed.

"You were probably thinking aloud" she laughed. At this, he blushed. "Oh, I didn't realize." He said.

"It's O.K." she said, the shadow of a smile still on her face. "Brick..."

"Yeah?"

"I forgot to thank you for telling me all that stuff."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to. Thank you." She said looking in his blood red eyes. "What you told me was really important, believe me."

"Yeah, but it doesn't help us much. I mean, even if we didn't know all that we would've found out about HIM striking back right now. He's the one that did this." He said a little angry that his contribution to solving the problem was so useless.

"You're not right Brick. Just think about it: if you hadn't told me that, then now HIM would've had the surprise element on his side and this would've left us a lot behind him. It's true that we don't know what he plans, but since we know it's HIM who's doing this we'll know how to face him." The girl said in her emotionless tone.

The boy had mixed feelings. He was happy that his contribution wasn't as useless as he thought, but he was a little sad because of the tone Blossom used to explain him this. It made him feel like she didn't really care. He couldn't understand why he was feeling sad. Usually he would be mad if someone did something like that to him. But Blossom's careless tone hurt him.

"Blossom... do you think I'm stupid for, you know, not figuring out what you just told me and that we mustn't go find HIM on our own and..." he trailed off because the girl took his hand in hers. He looked at their locked hands for some moments.

The girl lifted his head so their eyes meet. They both blushed when they saw how close they were to each other, but none of them did anything about it.

"Brick..." she started in a gentle tone, her lips curving in a little smile that made the boy blush even more. "... I don't think you're stupid, I never thought that. You just followed your instinct and that's just normal."

"But you didn't..." he said, his voice just above a whisper.

"I practiced." She smiled. He smiled back. "Now let's go and find that demon." She said.

"O.K.!" he answered. "Hey, isn't that the Town's Hall?" he said pointing to the nearly-destroyed building.

"Yeah! Let's go see if there's someone there!" the girl said flying towards it.

They landed in what was supposed to be the Mayor's office, although there wasn't much left of it.

"Wow. HIM must be really mad." Brick said looking around. "Look at this place!"

"Yeah, he never did something like this before." The girl commented.

Out of the corner of his eye, the boy saw something moving in the place where the desk had once been.

"Huh, look!" he said walking towards the spot.

"What is it?" the girl asked following him.

There, under some pieces that probably fell from the roof, were...

"Mayor! Miss Bellum (**A/N:** sorry if I misspelled)!" Blossom gasped.

The two adults began to move. The kids removed the heavy objects covering them and helped the older ones up.

"Oh, ow." The Mayor said, then when he turned to see who was helping him "Oh, hello there Brick" he said cheerfully.

"Uh, thank you Blossom." Miss Bellum said, but when she heard what the Mayor said she turned to see the Red Ruff helping the Mayor up. "Brick?" she gasped then turned to Blossom for an explanation.

"Um... well, the boys are on our side now, Miss Bellum" the girl answered her unspoken question.

The red headed woman looked at the boy. He nodded, giving her a shy smile, not knowing what to say.

"Oh, that's wonderful my boy, a very good decision." The Mayor said shaking the red head's hand. Brick was looking at him as if he was insane.

Seeing this, Blossom went to him and whispered in his ear: "Ignore him, he's just stupid."

"I see..." he said blushing at the sensation of her hot breath on his skin.

Miss Bellum saw that and smiled, although the others couldn't see it because of her hair.

"So, what happened here?" the Pink Puff asked motioning to what was left of the office.

"It wasn't my fault!" the Mayor said in a baby-like tone.

"It all began when HIM showed up on the sky and said something about having his revenge and showing 'them' who he is." The woman said.

"Who's 'them'?" the boy asked.

"I don't know, who's 'them'?" the Mayor asked in a dumb tone.

"Never mind" the girl said "Did he say anything else?"

"Yes, he said something about finding someone called 'the chosen one'." The woman said.

Brick's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to ask something, but the girl stopped him with a look and turned to Miss Bellum. "Then...?"

"Then that came." She said fear in her voice pointing somewhere behind the two red heads.

In the crystal forest, Bellatrix didn't have a very happy look on her face. She was watching the events in the little river with a frown on her face. When she saw the things that destroyed so much of the town, worry made its way on her face.

"This is getting out of control." She sighted.

Then she felt something strange, but not unfamiliar. She hadn't had that cold sensation for some time now. She lifted her hand in the air and the forest disappeared leaving a dark void. Then she put her hand on her chest and a black robe covered her thin body. She had a hood on her head so no one could see her face.

She looked at the golden portal that just appeared out of nowhere. She watched, with emotionless eyes, as a dark figure made its way out of the portal.

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That was it you guys! That was chapter 10. I'll try updating chapter 11 faster than this one. I promise.

See ya' in the next chapter!


	11. Know your enemy

Hey everyone! Did you miss me? O.K. that was just a joke. Forget about it.

I got some free time and here's chapter 11! See what some free time can do?

This story is dedicated to my sweet cousins Mara and Irina.

Special thanks to Dennis Gerbera, SithKnight-Galen and Secret girl for reviewing chapter 10. You're the best, you guys!

**Disclaimer: **This thing is starting to get on my nerves. Oh, alright! I'll do it. I don't own The Power Puff Girls, never have and never will. There! Are you happy now?

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 11: Know your enemy

The two brunettes looked where Jeff pointed and gasped. A tall figure was floating in the air looking at them.

It was a demon. But none of them ever had ever seen such a demon before. It looked like a woman. She had gray skin which had blood red scars on it. But the two super-powered kids could tell that those weren't recent. She wore a red and silver amazon-like armor and had big, gray bat wings on her back. Her short red hair was up (**A/N: **kinda' like Butch's stile) and she had big, cold golden eyes that looked like they were shooting death rays.

Her eyes were on them. A disgusted look appeared on her face, revealing her sharp fangs. "So you are the ones he disturbed me for? Where is this world heading to?" she sighed.

The two brunettes were furious. They only knew this woman for a few minutes, but they already decided that she was a real pain in the ass. It took them all the self-control they could manage to stop them selves from jumping at her.

"Who, the fuck, are you?" Buttercup asked trying hard not to yell.

"Me? Why, I am insulted that you didn't hear about me. I am one of the greatest warriors this world ever has ever seen. My name is Nosme." The red haired woman said glaring at the two.

"Let me guess: you're one of HIM's minions." Butch said glaring back at Nosme.

"Me? One of that pitiful creature's, that has the guts to call himself a demon, minions? Ha! Never! I am way stronger than him!" she said in a more disgusted tone than in the beginning. "But since he already awakened me from my sleep then I might as well take care of you so he won't be able to bring any more shame to the demons' name by loosing every time in front of you!" she said in a now emotionless tone.

Then she charged for the two. She hit Buttercup hard in the stomach sending her flying through the walls of the building and into the next one.

Butch watched this with big eyes. He hadn't even noticed when Nosme moving. He glared at the demon and charged for her aiming punch at her head. But she saw him and counterattacked, caching his fist in hers and throwing him back. He landed in front of the three kids that he had just met, and almost forgot they were still there. He looked at their scared faces. He couldn't fight with them around.

"Get out of here as fast as you can!" he said looking in their eyes. Seeing their doubtful faces he yelled: "Now!" At this, the kids listened to him and went away.

"Oh, how sweet of you… to defend the weak." Nosme said, her usual disgusted face back, looking at him. "But don't worry; they will be the first I'll kill after I'll be done with you and your little girlfriend." He blushed at this.

"That's not going to be an easy task..." Buttercup said from behind. She kicked the demon from the back and sent her flying into a wall "...Nosme" she smirked.

"That's my name little girl." The woman said getting out of what was left of the wall in which she had crashed a moment ago, and grabbed Buttercup's arms, immobilizing her. "Don't forget it, because it's the name of the one that will kill you." She finished throwing the girl away. She crashed into Butch and they went flying outside of the building.

"Man, she's good." the boy said helping his friend up.

"Yeah, Bloss was right. HIM came up with something really tough." The girl answered.

"But..." Butch didn't have the chance to finish what he was going to say because Nosme had jumped from where she was and made a perfect landing in front of them, with a smug smirk on her face.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

The blondes followed Miss Keane's gaze and gasped at what they saw. It was a demon, a really strange one.

It was obvious to them that it was a female. Her skin was a very dark shade of yellow that made her look really sick. She had a big scar on her face, from her forehead down to the right corner of her mouth. The scar that had taken the sight of her right eye looked like it was made hundreds of years ago. She was wearing a roman-like armor made of something that looked like gold, as were her sandals. She had long dark brown hair that was pulled in a low pony tail, and her eyes were a pale shade of red.

She looked at the kids, studying them. "They are so easy to read." She thought. "Just like two open books."

The younger ones looked at the demon with hate, surprise and fear in their eyes. This combination amused the brown haired woman. Then she looked at the other woman. She made a disgusted face. All she could see in her eyes was fear: fear for herself, for the kids, for what will happen. She hated that kind of people who only held fear in their eyes. She couldn't have fun watching fear grow in them. It was there from the start and it made things boring for her.

She raised her hand and shot an energy beam towards the brunette woman. Luckily for Miss Keane, Bubbles managed to push her teacher out of the way. However, the beam touched her arm leaving a burn mark there.

"Ow!" she cried holding her injured arm.

"Bubbles!" Boomer shouted concern visible in his eyes. The demon grinned "This might be fun after all." She thought.

"Sweetie, are you O.K.?" the blue eyed woman asked, concerned.

"Yeah! Just a little burnt." The blonde said. "I'll be alright." Then she turned to look at her teacher. "Miss Keane, you have to get out of here. Boomer and I will take care of that." She said looking at the demon.

The teacher nodded and went away as Boomer helped Bubbles stand up. Then he turned his eyes at the demon that had been watching them.

"Who are you?" he hissed.

She looked at him with emotionless eyes for a few moments, then responded with her half amused, half disgusted voice: "I am Arsione." She said simply.

"HIM sent you?" the girl asked looking at her.

"No. He just disturbed me. But since I hadn't had any fun for quite a while I decided to see what stops him from fulfilling his mission. He should be ashamed because it is only you." The demon said not taking her eyes off them.

Both sides went quiet for a couple of minutes, the blondes because they weren't very sure what they should do and the woman because she was having fun looking at them.

Boomer was sick of just standing there so he decided to attack. In the moment he moved Arsione charged for him. She kicked him in the chest sending him flying through the school's walls. Then she grabbed Bubbles by her collar and threw her after the boy. She landed on him.

"Oh, God! This really hurts." The girl said slowly getting up.

"Yeah, she's very strong." The boy agreed taking Bubbles' hand and getting up too.

"How are we supposed to fight her?" Bubbles asked looking at the place where she was standing just a moment ago. Her eyes widened in shock. "Boomer? Where is she?" the girl asked grabbing his arm.

The boy looked at the place the demon ha been standing a few minutes ago. She wasn't there. "Where did she go?" he asked.

"Looking for someone?" they heard the cold voice of the woman. They turned around to see her, a few feet away from them.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

The red heads turned to see what had scared Miss Bellum so badly. They looked with a combination of hate and surprise at the figure that was floating just a few inches above the floor.

The creature wore a black robe with a hood on its head, so it hid its face. Even with the robe they could tell that the black material covered a very thin body. It wasn't tall, only as tall as a 10 year old would normally be. They could see that its delicate looking hands were gloved. The figure had a cold aura surrounding it that made anyone shiver.

The two leaders stared at the unmoving figure for several minutes. They felt paralyzed, not only physically, but psychically too. Something touched Blossom's arm and she turned around to see Miss Bellum's frightened face. She turned her eyes back to where she had been looking just a few seconds before. She gasped when she saw the figure much closed than it was moments ago. "I didn't even hear it moving" she thought.

She turned to look at Brick. What she saw made her eyes widen. He was pale, very pale. And he had a lost look in his eyes. He seemed like he wasn't there. That scared her. She grabbed him and turned him around so he would face him. "Brick!" she shouted shaking him. "Brick! Snap out of it!" she yelled feeling fear take over her. "Brick what happened?" she said again, now in a shaky voice.

Just then, he blinked, at the sound of her voice, and life seemed to return in his eyes. "Blossom?" he said in what was just above a whisper. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure." She answered in the same tone. Then she looked at the Mayor and Miss Bellum.

"Miss Bellum, take the Mayor and get out of here! This is not going to be pretty." She told the woman. She nodded, grabbed the Mayor's hand and set off.

The two red heads turned their eyes to the dark figure. It had stopped where Blossom had last seen her. The girl wondered why.

"Who are you?" she heard her own voice ask although she didn't really think of asking that question.

The figure remained silent for more than five minutes that seemed to the super-powered kids like five lives. Then it spoke in a cold emotionless tone: "You do not need to know."

"You're of HIM's kind?" the boy asked already knowing the answer.

Another silence took over the ruins. Then the figure spoke again, with the same monotone voice "No". Its voice was more like a whisper, but it made their blood freeze.

Blossom wanted to ask something else, but in the next moment she felt something hard hitting her in the chest. She went flying through two or three buildings. When she got up she noticed that Brick was just a few feet from away.

"Ow, what was that?" the boy asked touching the place where he was had been hit.

"I think I might have an idea." The girl answered pointing at the bark figure that was slowly making its way through the holes they had left in the buildings.

"What is that thing?" the Red Ruff asked looking at the creature that was getting close.

"Your worst nightmare" they heard a cold whisper and then noticed that the thing was less than 8 feet away from them.

Cut to Buttercup and Butch

The two looked at the demon floating above them. They couldn't figure out how she got there without them noticing.

"What? Can't mach my powers?" she asked in a slightly amused tone. "Oh, right! You can't! I don't know why I always hope for a real battle. It seems that no one is good enough." She sighed trying to look disappointed.

"Oh, I think you've found your match right here." Butch growled at her, anger rising in his veins. He charged towards Nosme. The demon was just standing motionless in mid air with her arms folded, waiting for the brunette to reach her. In the last moment, before Butch could execute his attack, Nosme spun around and kicked him hard in the back, sending him flying in the nearby structure, all while keeping her arms crossed.

Buttercup needed a few seconds to realize what had happened.

"You won't be able to do that again." She hissed at the woman. When she saw the demon's smirk she became really furious. She charged for the red haired woman. Nosme remained stationary in the air with her arms crossed. When Buttercup reached her, she dodged her attack with super speed. The girl stopped dead in mid air staring at the spot where the woman stood a moment ago. Then she heard a cough behind her and turned around to see what it was. Nosme was floating there looking down at her with her smirk still on her face.

"That's impossible!" the brunette said in what was a little above a whisper. But the demon heard her.

"Maybe, for a weakling like you, but us, demons, have many superior qualities." The woman said her smirk growing bigger.

That really made Buttercup mad. She attempted to punch Nosme repeatedly. The demon, however, was able to move out of the way of each punch, all while keeping her arms folded across her chest and her smug smirk on her face. Buttercup's frustration grew. She swung harder and faster, but to no avail.

"Give up, little girl. I'm too fast for you!" the woman said.

"Maybe, but..." the girl thought. She decided to go for a knock-out punch. Nosme, however, took advantage of this and smashed Buttercup in the face with a punch of her own. The girl was sent flying to the ground.

She opened her eyes to see Butch looking at her. "Man, this isn't gonna' be a piece of cake." She said while he helped her up.

"Yeah, we gotta' find something else and fast or Madame Scars over there will sure kick our buts." He said looking at the floating figure of Nosme.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

The two looked at the demon, then at the place she had been standing moments ago and then back at her.

"How did-?" Bubbles began, but trailed off. She probably had super speed.

"It was about time you realized." The woman said looking down at the girl.

"What?" Boomer asked glaring at Arsione.

The brown headed woman closed her eyes and sighed. Then using super speed she hit the kids hard sending them flying backwards.

"Ow." Bubbles said holding her arm. It was the same one that Arsione's beam had burnt.

"Are you O.K.?" the boy asked looking at her.

"Yeah, but we got to do something about her 'cause I don't want to be her play ball anymore." The girl said.

Boomer nodded and decided to make the first move. He crouched and took off straight for the demon. Arsione stuck her hand out and grabbed his head. She stopped him cold and kicked him into the sky. Then she jumped up, right after the boy.

Bubbles saw all this and decided that Boomer needed some help. She took off after Arsione.

The demon passed Boomer as he was sailing through the air. She swat him, sending him flying down to the ground.

Bubbles made an attempt to attack Arsione with her laser beam, but the woman was ready. She dodged the girl's lasers and landed swiftly on a tall branch of a tree. But the blonde didn't have time to register much because the demon jumped again and before she knew it the woman kneed her in the midsection and then sent her flying down like she did with Boomer.

She landed gracefully on another tall tree, gloating over her victims. She was waiting patiently for the next move, smiling as she felt fear growing in the two blondes' hearts.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

The two looked at the dark figure in front of them. It looked very calm now, though they were sure that creature was the one that had sent them flying though the buildings.

They stood still a few more minutes. They were starting to feel strange again. "Oh no." Blossom thought, realizing what was happening. She used all her concentration to set her mind and body free. Then she grabbed Brick's hand and flew high in the sky.

The boy looked at her with questioning eyes. Then, seeing the look on her face, he understood what was going on.

"We have to quit doing that." He said looking down where the figure was standing.

"Yeah, it probably does that trick when we stand still. I don't think it can pull that trick while we're moving." The red headed girl said. "I'm not very sure what we should do." She admitted.

"Well, I have an idea." The boy said charging for the dark creature that hadn't moved. When he was just a few inches away from hitting it, the figure moved out of the way so fast that he thought it just disappeared. He crashed into the ground since he didn't have the chance to stop his attack.

Blossom gasped when she saw what happened. Stopping the attack after she had hit it wasn't an option. So she decided for something else. She made a beeline towards the demon, attempting to give it a flying elbow. But the creature moved out of the way. The girl thought that she'll just try the attack again from the back, but she felt something hard hit her stomach. She was sent flying into a nearby structure.

She got up and tried something else. She charged for the figure, her fist ready. The demon caught her fist in its own, but the girl managed to spin around in mid air and kicked the creature in the head. But because she had her left arm immobilized by the demon, her hit didn't have much strength and it only moved the hood on the figure's head, revealing a simple white mask.

Blossom stared at the mask. Not that it was something special. It was just a girl's face made of porcelain. But she didn't have much time to study it because she felt pain in the midsection. The demon had just pounded her hard, sending her flying backwards.

She landed near Brick who just had recovered from his crash.

"Are you O.K.?" he asked helping her up.

"Yeah, whatever that thing is, it sure doesn't want anyone seeing its face." She said.

"What do you think we could do?" he asked looking in her eyes.

"I don't really have any ideas. I've never met a creature like this before." She whispered in response.

Meanwhile in the dark void

Bellatrix watched patiently as a hooded figure stepped out of the golden portal. It was two months now since she hadn't had to mask the crystal forest and replace it with the dark, cold void. She didn't like to do that, but it was necessary.

"Dren" she said simply, in a cold voice.

"It is always a pleasure to see you dear lady." The hooded man said in a deep voice.

"A pleasure only for you, I assure you." She answered, her voice gaining a disgusted tone.

"Oh, you shouldn't talk like that with your allies, dear lady." Came his response.

"You are not my ally, demon." She said.

"No? You are helping us find the chosen one. What does that mean to you?" he said looking at her.

"A service. And I get something in exchange, for doing it. That's the way mercenaries do their job." She answered.

"Well, I like to think of you as an ally." The man said, a smirk visible on his face.

"You have a reason for it too?" she asked disgusted.

"Well let's see: our big goal is to find and destroy the chosen one. Your big goal is to get your life back, the life that one of our enemies took away. We can not fulfill our mission in time without your help and you can't get your life back without our magic. So we need each other and we have the same enemies. Doesn't that make us allies?" he said smiling at her.

"In my book, it doesn't." She answered calmly. "And as much as I'd love to continue this pointless conversation I have a job to do." He said in a disgusted tone.

"The Mistress wants to know if you've found the chosen one." The man said in a now serious tone.

"You interrupted me from one of my attempts to find your precious chosen one. You can tell your Mistress that she will have to wait longer for the results because you pick the worst moments to show up." She said in an emotionless tone.

The man's eyes widened in fear under his robe's hood. He would be punished if the Mistress found out about this.

"Now leave." The girl said. "I have more important things to attend to."

The man nodded and disappeared in the golden portal. Bellatrix sighed and raised her hand in the air again. Everything became as it was before the demons' visit.

She walked towards the little river and looked down. She studied the battles that were taking place.

"Nosme… always so arrogant, though you have your reasons to be… You were one of the best... before we met. But it is nice to see you again" The silver haired girl smiled as she looked at the red headed demon sending Buttercup flying to the ground.

"Arsione… ever the same. But I enjoyed working with you." She said remembering events of the past. She watched the red eyed demon hitting Bubbles.

Then she turned to see the demon that attacked the red heads. She didn't recognize it, though it wasn't unfamiliar.

"Those moves... so calm and focused..." the purple eyed girl whispered watching the masked demon sending Blossom sailing thorough the air. "... I've seen them before." She said scanning her mind for the person that she saw the moves at.

* * *

Chapter 11 is done! I wanted to update this thing yesterday 'cause I wanted to do something special for my birthday. I'm 15 now and it feels... well... it doesn't feel any different.

O.K. back to the subject: what do you think about the battle scenes? I usually suck at describing battle scenes, but I did my best. I know that there aren't too many battle scenes… I'll have some in chapter 12 too (you didn't really think that I'd put all the violence in one chapter, now did you?). Please tell me what you think!

About chapter 12, well what should I say? It'll be up next week if my teachers spare me. Let's hope they do.

See ya' in the next chapter!


	12. Inevitable

Hey guys! I'm back. Sorry for the wait. I know I said that I'll update sooner, but I just didn't have the time.

But anyway, here's the much awaited chapter 12: "Inevitable". I think this chapter is the longest one yet. I hope you'll like it.

I'd like to thank SithKnight-Galen, Secret Girl, Lil Fang, biornot, Miaka (um, no, I got it from Harry Potter), joey (ops! my mistake), Dennis Gerbera ('cause she really is more) and BlueMiracle51 (oh, you make me blush) for reviewing my last chapter.

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina. I love you guys!

**Disclaimer:** Really, this starts to get on my nerves! I don't own the show! Happy?

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 12: Inevitable

Nosme didn't move. She just stood there, floating. She wanted to know what the two brunettes were capable of. She was sure that they could do better. Even if she didn't want to admit it, HIM wasn't as weak as she first said he was, though, compared to her, he had the strength of a child. But he was still a demon and it took a lot more than she had seen to beat a demon.

Even if patience wasn't one of her qualities, she did her best not to go after the two. Maybe, if she left them have surprise on their side they'd be a bigger challenge. The only thing she loved was to fight and she always tried to make every one of her battles interesting. She often failed, but that never made her give up.

To distract herself she left her mind wonder back in time, months, years or maybe centuries had passed since her eyes had last seen something. She didn't know how much time passed. When you are dead you don't notice such things anymore.

The thought of her death always managed to make her feel really weird. She knew that this should make her feel angry and want to get revenge on the one that was responsible for her end. But, strangely, she didn't.

When she was alive, she was one of the greatest warriors that the demon race had ever seen. She lost only a few battles, some when she was an amateur in the art of battle, and her last one. But she felt satisfied.

Her last battle was the greatest one of all. She was sure that she couldn't have had a tougher one even if she had fought the chosen one. She only had one regret: she never knew the name of the one that killed her.

She closed her eyes recalling the past events. Strangely, she could remember every move, every look, every thought, but she couldn't remember the face of the one that had killed her, though it always felt familiar.

Several feet away from the demon, the two brunettes were trying to find a way to win the battle.

"This isn't good." Butch said "She's very strong!"

"Yeah, I never met someone so tough before." The girl answered.

"How, are we going to beat her?" The boy asked, looking at the dark women. "I don't like to admit it, but she's stronger than us."

"Yeah... but..." he Green Puff said gazing at the demon.

"What?" the boy asked curious.

"She managed to beat us when we were fighting alone." She said looking into the boy's emerald eyes. He smirked understanding what she was saying.

"But she won't be able to beat us together!" he completed her idea.

"Yeah" she smiled.

"'K. lets kick her butt!" he said, his voice full of confidence.

He took off and she followed him close behind. She didn't say anything. They already said everything they had to. Now it was the time to get to action. And that was her favorite part. She wasn't about to ruin it with useless talking.

The demon opened her eyes and saw the two heading straight her way. She smiled a little; it was going to be fun. She readied her fist to hit Butch, who was somewhat closer to her. But when she was about to make her move, she felt something hard hitting her stomach. She was sent flying backwards a few feet.

She opened her eyes to look at the one that had hit her. She was a little surprised to see the brunette girl looking back at her, with a little smirk on her face.

"Hm, I didn't know she was so fast." The demon thought. When she had seen them coming her way she calculated that the girl would get to her around two seconds after the boy. And that would've been more that enough to take care of the green eyed boy.

"I guess I'll have a little challenge after all." She thought smirking to herself.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

Arsione watched the two kids for a few minutes, but then she thought that she could observe what had changed in the human world since she had left life. She looked around. She couldn't say much, since she managed to destroy most of the town. However, she remembered how it was before her attack.

She remembered how big the buildings were. "Back then, only monuments were so big." The woman said in her mind, thinking at the few human cities and villages she had seen during her life.

Then the image of the vehicles that the humans used to move around popped in her head. "A simple locomotion spell" she thought. "But I thought that it was decided not to let humans be so close to magic. At least most of them." She thought, disappointed that she hadn't been able to see a human on a horse. That imagine always amused her.

The demon continued with her thoughts, comparing this world and the one she had known before her death. She found that a lot had changed.

Not far from where the brown headed woman was contemplating what was left of the town, the two blondes were having some trouble.

"Oww" Bubbles growled, holding her injured arm.

"Bubbles, are you O.K.?" Boomer asked looking worried.

"I'll live." She answered. "Now we have bigger problems." She said looking at the demon floating not far from them.

"Yeah, and we'd better finish this fast." He said looking at her arm.

"I'm O.K., really. I've been through worse." she said, noticing the look on his face.

"Yeah, but I have a feeling that this will get a lot worse." He answered, keeping his worried look.

"Uh-huh." She nodded turning her eyes to look at the demon. "She's so fast. We couldn't lay even a finger on her." She sighed.

"Yeah." The boy sighed, looking down. He didn't know what to do. He wanted to end everything fast so Bubbles wouldn't get hurt any more, but he saw how strong Arsione was. He doubted that this would be even close to easy. He raised his eyes to look at the blonde girl. He wanted to keep her away from that demon. Then his eyes widened.

"Bubbles, I have an idea!" he said slightly excited.

The girl turned to look in his eyes. "What?' she asked.

"We could attack her without getting close."

"You mean energy attacks?"

"Yeah. We saw how strong she's when it comes to face to face battle so we could change tactic. You know, keep the distance." He said, a smile appearing on his lips.

"Yes, but we have to be careful not to get too close. We don't want any more tossing around." The girl said, smiling at her counterpart.

"Not if we stay high in the air. Every time she had to reach us when we were flying, she jumped. She can't fly. So if we stay high enough, she won't be able to reach us." The boy explained eagerly.

"Let's do it!" Bubbles said, rising into the air. Boomer followed her in the next second.

They looked at Arsione who was busy contemplating what was left of the school. That was their chance. And they took it. They made a big energy ball and threw it straight at the demon.

The woman heard something strange and turned to see what it was. She was surprised to see an energy ball heading her way. She didn't have time to move out of the way so she was hit full force by the blast. She was thrown back several yards.

Arsione slowly opened her eyes and realized what had happened. She looked at the two children, who had very satisfied expressions. She smiled a little. "This is going to be fun." She thought looking at her opponents.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

The hooded figure watched the two red heads with a lack of emotion. In fact it never felt at all. A demon wasn't supposed to do it. Feelings were for the weak ones, not for its kind.

But the dark figure had once almost broken that rule. When it had to fulfill one of the missions the Mistress gave to the demon. But, the hooded figure never fell.

The demon remembered the entire mission. It was something about killing someone... "a half blood" its voice sounded clearly in it's mind.

The dark demon always wanted to forget everything about that mission. It managed to fulfill it, indeed, but the half blood had represented its downfall. It forced itself so hard not to fall, that, when everything was over, the demon freed all the energy it had used to stop feelings. The power had taken away the figure's life with it.

"The Mistress had been right when she said that it was going to be very dangerous." A voice in the demon's head broke the silence. And now it had another mission, after so many years. The figure had to finish with the obstacles that stood in the way of finding the chosen one.

A little further from the dark figure the red headed kids were trying to figure out what to do.

"I don't know Brick.., I've never seen something like that before." Blossom said looking at her counterpart. She wished Bella was there. She'd come up with an idea. But going in the crystal forest in the middle of a battle was a very bad idea.

"Me neither. But we have to find something." The boy said.

"We need a plan." The girl said. "What do we know about that creature by now?"

"Not much. Just that it's very strong and fast and that it can do that trick with the mind paralyzing thing." He said. The girl nodded looking like she was in deep thought. "You know, it really looks like it focuses really hard on every move." He said, his voice just above a whisper. The girl raised her head.

"Brick, that's it!" she said looking in his eyes. He gave her a questioning look. "If one of us manages to distract that demon, the other can attack it by surprise."

"Hmm, I don't know..." the boy said looking at the hooded figure. "... that thing doesn't look like it lets something go unnoticed."

"That's why we have to do our best." the girl said gazing into his crimson orbs. "We'll start by attacking it together with energy blasts, 'cause I'm not sure that getting too close to it when it is aware of it, is a very good idea."

"In this case we'll have to move very fast." The boy commented.

"I think we can be fast enough. But after a few minutes one of us will have to stop the attack and get closer to the demon without it noticing. And that means that the other will have to increase the energy attack so that creature won't notice anything, or at least not too much. At this point we'll have to move at top speed. We'll both attack it full force from opposite directions." The Pink Puff explained.

"It's risky, but it's a plan so we should do it." The boy said. "I think I should continue to distract the demon while you sneak behind it. I'm faster than you are and I don't master discretion so it will be the best thing." He said.

"O.K. let's go." The girl said taking off with Brick behind her.

The two got high into the air and began their attack. The masked demon heard the sound of the blasts and broke out of its thoughts. It dodged most of the attacks, but it didn't have the time to focus on its attackers.

"This is going to be interesting." The figure thought while moving out of the way of a laser beam.

Cut to Buttercup and Butch

The red haired demon regained her balance and looked at the brunettes with her smirk on her face. "It's about time you came back. I was getting bored." She said looking at them with a fake accusing look.

"Patience isn't one of your strong points, huh?" the green eyed girl said the little smirk still on her face.

"Same goes with bravery." The boy commented looking at the golden eyed woman.

"What!" the demon hissed, getting angry.

"You heard me. Or you have problems with your ears too?" the boy smirked.

"Why you little..." the woman hissed dangerously.

"Yeah, you always wait for us to come to you 'cause you're too afraid to do it yourself." The girl said, giving a quick "be careful" look to Butch and then returned her eyes to the angry demon.

By now Nosme was in rage. She was known for having a short temper and the kids were pushing it. She would never allow anyone to insult her. Without another word she charged for the girl aiming a kick at her. But when she was few inches away from her she felt something hitting her side.

Butch had fired his laser beams and Buttercup did the same. They kept hitting the demon with their laser beams fast and hard. Eventually the woman fell to the ground.

"Yes! It worked!" the girl said throwing a fist into the air.

"Yeah! Wow that woman really got mad." Butch commented.

"I'm sure that she's not finished yet, so we should continue this." The Green Puff said looking at her counterpart and then at the place where the demon had fallen.

Indeed the demon rose from the hole that her crash had left. She looked at her opponents. The girl was looking back at her, but the boy wasn't paying any attention to her. She smirked. "Fool" she thought and charged for Butch.

Buttercup saw this, but wasn't able to react because the next moment, Butch was hit so hard, all the air in his lungs was knocked out. Nosme continued the punishment too hard and fast for him to react.

"She's not paying any attention to me." The girl thought. "And she's gonna' regret it." She charged for the demon. Before Nosme could hit Butch any more, Buttercup kicked the demon in the back with all her strength, sending her flying a few feet through the air.

Then the girl turned to the Green Ruff and grabbed him by the arm. "We'll have to move fast. We have to attack in the same time, hard and fast so she won't be able to react." The boy nodded and they both took of after the demon.

The woman was trying to regain her focus. "Man, those kids really know how to fight. I guess I underestimated them." She thought. She looked around and saw the brunettes heading her way at top speed. She went into attack position, but too late because she had already been hit by Buttercup in the chest. Then she felt a powerful punch in her back.

The kids continued their attack. They didn't have an exact rhythm for their hits. They didn't care. They just wanted to finish her once and for all. After a few minutes they stopped the fast attacks and concentrated their energy for the final blast.

They hit hard with an energy attack. This sent Nosme flying to the ground. Her crash left a big crater.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

The demon rose to her feet with a confident expression on her face. That made the kids wonder what she was thinking of.

"Is that all you can do?" she asked, a smile appearing on her lips.

"You haven't seen anything, demon." The boy spat at her.

"Oh, but I did. I saw how easy you can loose. It was a surprise. HIM is a weak one, but not that weak. How did you beat him? Or did you ever beat him?" the woman said, laughing to herself because she felt the anger and annoyance grow in the two.

"Every single time." Bubbles answered trying to stay calm.

"Oh, really? I wouldn't say." The brown haired demon said, enjoying the show in their hearts.

"If we are so weak, then why did you pick us as targets?" the boy asked in what he hoped it was a curious tone.

"What?" the demon asked surprised. She hadn't expected this. Bubbles looked at Boomer too, but she understood what kind of game he was playing.

"Yeah, why Arsione?" she said trying to hide her smile. "Did HIM command you to do it and you couldn't do anything else but listen to him?"

"Yeah. Or maybe you aren't strong enough to face anyone else so you pick the ones who you think are weak, so you won't seem worthless to your kind." The blonde boy said looking at the demon.

"I don't listen to anyone's commands and I am one of the most powerful demons in the world." Arsione said feeling that she was loosing her patience.

"Oh, really?" Boomer said watching her with a skeptical look on his face. "Prove it."

The demon smirked looking at the two children. "Oh, yes. You will get proof." She thought. She charged for the boy aiming a kick at him. But she didn't manage to hit him because in the next moments she was hit by the girl's laser beams. The boy joined her and they sent her back to the ground.

"So that's the way you want to play." She thought, getting up. "Very well, then."

Arsione started to run in zigzag, at top speed, occasionally jumping in the air, so to be closer to her victims, all the while throwing energy beams at the two blondes. They managed to duck most of her attacks, but they knew they couldn't continue like that for long. They got a little closer to each other so they could talk.

"What now?" the boy asked.

"I'm not sure, but we have to find something fast or we'll get too tired to fight." Bubbles answered, dodging another of the demon's blasts.

"We could split up." Boomer suggested.

"What?" the girl exclaimed.

"Yeah. This way it would be harder for her to hit us." The boy explained.

"O.K., but we won't go too far from each other. It wouldn't be safe." The girl said.

"Right! Then we'll make our move." He said ducking just in time to avoid a huge blast.

The girl nodded and they split up. The demon was surprised to see that they weren't together any more. "Big mistake dears. You should know that I am not a stranger to telekinesis" She smirked and stopped in the middle of the school's playground. She extended her hand and used her power to lift one of the broken swings. Her eyes glittered viciously as she sent the object flying after the boy, not loosing control over it. Boomer saw this coming and dodged the swing, but he wasn't expecting it to come back.

The demon used the chain of the swing to immobilize the Blue Ruff and then pulled him to the grown. She got ready to hit him with a powerful energy attack. But suddenly a great pain went through her body and she lost control of the chain that was holding the boy. She looked behind to see the blue eyed girl floating there, still in attack position. She growled. "The little brat." She thought readying herself to attack her attack, but she felt another blast in the back.

Boomer had recovered from his fall and he had hit her with a beam of his own. Then he flew to Bubbles. They were going to finish with the demon now. He looked at his counterpart and she returned his look.

In a few moments their attack was ready. They had gathered their energy so they'd be sure that Arsione wasn't going to get away. They fired.

Arsione turned her head to see what they were doing and was very surprised at what she saw. She didn't have the time to move out of the way so she was caught in the attack. She let out a scream as the energy engulfed her.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

The two red heads continued their attack at top speed. The demon seemed really focused on getting out of the way. It did most of the time, but some of the blasts hit the figure hard.

Blossom looked at Brick, who felt her eyes on him and turned to look at her. She gave him a little nod and he returned it. It was time to put their plan into action.

Brick increased his attacks and Blossom stopped hers. She flew as fast as she could, without leaving the pink streak. She had to go around so the demon wouldn't notice her.

Indeed, the dark figure didn't notice where she had gone, but it did notice the change in the energy assault. Something was missing. It couldn't see anything through the porcelain mask, but it could feel. The demon had learnt the manner in which the assault was carried out and now something had changed.

The answer came to its mind as if it were the most normal thing. One of them had stopped. And that left the other one alone. The figure concentrated a little before finding the boy's position.

The demon dodged one of his blasts and sent one of its own blasts at him. Surprised by the figure's attack, Brick didn't have the time to move out of the way, so he was hit by the energy beam.

He yelped in pain and turned his head to Blossom, who looked ready to fly right back at him. "Keep going!" he muttered. The girl looked uncertain for a moment, but she nodded and continued. He turned to look at the demon and was surprised to find that it wasn't too far from him. He dodged its punch in the last moment.

"Uh, this is getting annoying." He thought, going after the figure. When he was just inches away from it, the demon turned around and kicked Brick in the face. The boy growled loudly, but regained his focus. He moved out of the way of an energy blast and shot one of his own. It hit the figure in the shoulder.

The demon touched the place where it had been hit and lost its concentration for a moment. Seeing this, the red headed boy charged for it and hit it in the chest, hard, sending the figure flying through the air.

Then he looked down and saw that Blossom was in position and he took his place. Now they were on the exact opposite sides of the demon. They released a powerful energy attack that hit the demon full force.

After that, Brick noticed that Blossom was flying up and for a moment he thought that she was heading his way. But he was wrong. The Pink Puff was going for the demon. She hit it hard sending it sailing through the air. He flew at her with a questioning look on his face.

"We mustn't let it regain its focus!" she answered his look.

"O.K.!" he nodded. "Let's go!"

They took off towards the figure, at top speed. Before reaching it Blossom told Brick one last thing. "Brick, we have to keep changing the way we fight. When we were attacking it with the lasers we had an exact rhythm and that's how it noticed I wasn't there anymore. We mustn't let it react to our attacks." She said looking in his eyes.

"OK" he nodded.

They reached their target and began their punishment. They hit the demon with any possible attack, always changing their battle style so the figure couldn't learn anything about their strategy.

When they thought that they had done enough, they left the thin body for a second, just to hit it with a strong energy beam in the next. The dark figure was sent crashing into the ground, leaving a huge crater.

Cut to Buttercup and Butch

The brunettes landed and stared at the crater left by Nosme's fall.

"We... did it?" Buttercup said, a little unsure whether to believe it or not.

"I... think so." Butch said turning to look at his counterpart.

They looked in each other's eyes for some minutes. Then smiled at each other and started to laugh.

"YEAH! WE DID IT!" they shouted excited.

"Since when were you so bad?" the green eyed boy asked with a playful look on his face.

"I was born that way, baby!" She answered playfully, punching his arm.

They continued to laugh and joke for the next few minutes. Suddenly the earth started to violently shake.

"What's going on?" Butch asked.

"Earthquake?" the girl said trying to keep her balance.

"You wish." They heard a cold hiss. They turned to the crater. There, floating above was Nosme, looking very furious.

"What?!" the kids said in unison.

"I'll end this game now!" the demon shouted charging for the brunettes. The two tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. Nosme hit them with her fists, sending them flying in opposite directions.

She took off after Buttercup planning to go after the boy after she finished with the one that annoyed her most. She hit the girl with a powerful energy blast before she could hit the ground. The girl flew a few more feet in the air before she fell on the hard surface. She had a large wound on her side, where Nosme's beam had hit her. She went unconscious.

Then the demon turned around to see Butch heading her way with an angry look on his face. She punched him in the jaw and sent him sailing through the air. She went after him, intending to finish him.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

The two blondes gazed at the hole left by Arsione. They stood like that for several minutes. Then they looked at each other.

"We... won." Bubbles said staring at her counterpart's eyes. They smiled at each other.

"WE WON! WE WON!" they screamed, hugging each other and jumping around. When they realized what they were doing, they let go of each other and blushed.

Then, out of no where, a loud sound filled their ears.

"Ow, what's this?" Boomer asked covering his ears to protect them.

"I don't know." The girl answered placing her hands over her ears too.

"And you'd wish you never did." A familiar voice said.

The two kids looked up to see Arsione with an angry look on her face that made her scar look very ugly, frightening in a way.

"Arsione!" the blondes said surprised.

"Exactly. And I'm done playing!" she hissed. She aimed an energy blast at Bubbles.

The girl was practically paralyzed and all she could do was stay there and stare at the beam that was getting closer by the second. Boomer saw this and flew at top speed towards Bubbles. He managed to push her out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough to get out of the way himself. The blast hit him full force. He yelled in pain and fell to the ground, with several deep wounds on his body.

The demon turned towards the blonde girl keeping the dreadful look on her face. Bubbles watched her getting close, fear filling her whole body.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

The red heads looked at the huge crater not sure what to believe.

"It... worked?" Blossom asked in a weak voice.

"Yeah... I think so." The boy answered. They looked at each other. Then they smiled.

"Congratulations!" Brick said gazing in the girl's eyes.

"For what?" she asked confused. She didn't know what Brick could be talking about.

"For your plan! If it wasn't for that we would've been finished by now." He answered smiling.

"Hey, I wasn't alone. You did a big part of the work." She said. Then she saw a big bruise on his upper arm. "The painful part." She whispered reaching for his wound.

"I'm OK" he said, blushing when she touched him. Her touch didn't make him feel pain.

Suddenly, everything went dark. They couldn't see anything.

"What's happening?" Brick heard the girl's voice and felt her coming closer to him.

"I'm not sure." He answered trying to see something through the dark. Then he saw a little light. Holding Blossom's hand he went closer. He gasped when he saw what it was.

There, floating above the crater, was the dark figure, its robe torn and its mask almost broken. The demon turned its masked face to the two. Then, Brick felt something around his neck. It was strangling him. He looked at Blossom and saw that she was, too, gasping for air.

Then, an invisible force lifted him off the ground. He stood there a few moments before the thing around his neck disappeared. But it was replaced with an unbearable pain. He screamed as something hit him in the chest and sent him flying through the air.

The demon turned to Blossom, who was still struggling to breathe. It removed the spell and lifted her, too, in the air, but the girl did something the figure didn't anticipate: she hit the dark creature with her eye beam. The figure didn't free her from the spell, but was thrown back a few feet.

The Pink Puff saw pieces of porcelain falling from its bent head. The demon quickly flew toward the red head without raising its head. Its robe fell off its thin body in the process. When it reached Blossom it finally raised its head.

Blossom was now staring at a very skinny girl. She had gray skin and she wore a simple black dress that was slightly torn. She had the features of a little girl, around 10 or 11 years old. Her dark blue hair fell disgracefully over her eyes. Those eyes stunned the red head. They were icy blue, almost gray and, although her body and face seemed young, her eyes looked like they were as old as the world itself.

The demon raised her, now ungloved, hand and moved it to touch Blossom's face.

Meanwhile, in the crystal forest

Bellatrix was watching the battles that were taking place. She saw, without being very surprised, as Nosme and Arsione regained their force and attacked the kids again. She knew the two and what they could do. She was sure, from the moment she had seen them, that the children would loose.

But her attention had been focused on the hooded figure that was battling Blossom and Brick. It seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember where she saw her before.

When the demon raised its head and came in Blossom's vision Bellatrix gasped, remembering the figure.

"Chayen!" she whispered, with a terrified look on her face.

Then she saw the girl raising her hand and painful memories came back to her mind.

"NO!" she shouted and, without thinking twice, she jumped in the little river that showed her the events.

Back in the human world

Blossom watched the girl in front of her with a frightened look on her face. Suddenly she felt something weird run through her body. It was something cold and slightly painful. Her body began to glow.

The demon's eyes widened slightly upon seeing this. In the next moment she felt pain in her chest. A glowing form, that looked more like a big amount of energy than a living being, got out of Blossom's body and hit the blue haired girl full force.

Then it took off at top speed. It reached HIM's lair and it easily made its way in. There, in a dark chamber was HIM, looking like he was in some kind of trance. But he was of no interest to the figure. It went straight for the black crystal that was in front of the demon and touched it. A bright light appeared, then nothing. HIM was still in his trance and the energy had disappeared.

Cut to the brunettes

Butch saw the demon coming after him. He could say that he wasn't afraid, but that would be lying. He was very scared. Terrified even.

He turned around to find the outraged demon just a few feet away from him. She charged for him. But just then a bright light appeared. Butch covered his eyes to protect himself from the light. He heard a loud scream and when he opened his eyes Nosme was nowhere in sight.

Cut to the blondes

Bubbles watched in horror as the woman was got closer. She was so scared that she couldn't move. She looked at Boomer who was on the ground, badly injured.

The girl turned her eyes to the demon as a very bright light appeared. She closed her eyes. A loud shriek filled her ears and then only silence. She slowly opened her eyes to see that Arsione was gone.

Cut to the red heads

The demon got up and looked around. She saw the red headed girl on the ground half unconscious. She walked toward her. "Who are you, little girl?" she whispered in her cold voice. She reached out to touch her, but just then a bright light conquered her darkness. She felt pain run through her whole body. She tried not to scream, but she couldn't help it. With that last scream she went back to the object that brought her in the world of the living.

Then the energy that had hit the blue haired demon appeared and went back in Blossom's body.

In the crystal forest

Bellatrix was lying on the ground of the forest, by the little river. Her clothes were torn, her hair was ruffed and she looked exhausted.

"I guess... it was inevitable." She whispered to herself. "One way, or another it was going to happen. I have to get ready... everyone has to be ready." She stopped for a few seconds before continuing "But... there could be a way..." she whispered closing her purple eyes.

* * *

I'm done! But I won't say anything more 'cause if my mom finds out that I'm at the computer and not studying for my next math test, she'll kill me.

See ya' in the next chapter!


	13. A little chat

Hey everyone! What's up?

Sorry I haven't updated in a long time! I had a huge writer's block! And I'm not sure it's gone yet, 'cause I'm not really sure what to do for the next chapter. Oh, well, I'll figure it out.

Special thanks to BlueMiracle51, Dennis Gerbera, CamillaMB and Lil Fang for reviewing my last chapter! I love you guys!

This story is dedicated to the best cousins in the world: Mara and Irina!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Power Puff Girls. How many times do I have to tell you people this so you'd understand!

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 13: A little chat

The little silver haired girl lied on the ground for some time. She wasn't afraid that her red headed friend would come to her. She took care that she would be alone for a few hours. Now Blossom was unconscious and Bellatrix made sure that her mind would rest.

She looked at her pale hands and sighed. "A battle means nothing as long as you win the war." A woman's soft voice came into her mind. She remembered those words so clearly. One of her few friends had told her that a long time ago.

She had lost that battle. She had, indeed, saved the kids, but only for a short time. Her actions wouldn't go unnoticed. The lil' demons' princess was going to realize she had been lying to her for so long. And she would be furious. Maybe she'd have the chance to meet her face to face, again. She frowned. In her current state she wouldn't be able to survive even if she was in her own territory.

"But this isn't just about me." The girl whispered thinking about her pink eyed friend and her sisters. She managed to know them very well. She knew their thoughts, their feelings, their fears. In a way, she could consider them her friends. Just that Bubbles and Buttercup never knew that she existed.

"But they will find out too. If everything goes right." Bellatrix thought getting up. She started to walk towards the part of the crystal forest that she hardly ever used.

She reached a miniature mountain where the little river she used as a window to the living world had its source. She touched her chest and the black robe she used some time ago, when Dren came, appeared on her body. Then she touched the clear water and murmured something.

The water started to move and it slowly gained a shape. In a few seconds, on a big crystal, near the river's source, was a watery figure. It was obvious that it was a woman. Even from a sitting position it could be seen that she was tall. She had a graceful position on the crystal and her hair was pulled back in a loop. Due to the fact that her body was made of water, her features weren't very clear. The only things that someone could see clearly were her big eyes. They were a very dark shade of blue, just like the sea in the middle of the storm, and they held a wise look.

When those blue orbs fell on the little hooded figure, a smile passed their owner's lips. "Hey." Said the woman's soft voice. Bellatrix smiled under her hood at the sound of her friend's voice. She had missed her.

"It's been long, Nishio." The girls said.

"Too long." Her soft voice answered in what was just a little above a whisper. Bellatrix locked eyes with the watery figure. Purple faced dark blue for several minutes.

"I need your help." The girl said not breaking their gaze.

"I never thought I'd hear those words coming out of your mouth." The woman said still keeping their eyes locked.

"You were wrong."

"I don't like being wrong."

"Then don't try to predict my moves."

Another silence followed the girl's words.

"What happened?" the woman asked after a few minutes.

"I tricked the little princess and she found out." Came the answer.

"How'd you get caught?"

"I blew my cover." She responded.

The blue eyed figure opened her mouth to say something more, but she was cut off when the girl got something out of robe and threw it her way. She caught it in the nick of time.

"You know what this is?" Bellatrix asked.

"Don't insult me." The woman answered studying the sharp object.

"Get it ready. If everything goes as I planned I won't need it, but we should be ready for anything." The silver haired girl said in a demanding tone.

Purple faced dark blue again in complete silence.

"What are the chances that your plan would work?" the older figure asked in an emotionless tone.

"Honesty? I'm going to need a miracle for it to work." Came the response.

"And you think you'll get it?" the watery figure asked in the same tone.

Bellatrix didn't answer for a few minutes. She looked away thinking of her friend's question. How many chances were for a miracle to happen?

"It all depends on her." The silver haired girl whispered.

The woman looked at the girl for a few more minutes and then she disappeared in the water.

Bellatrix stared at the place where the woman was sitting moments ago and sighed. She felt a cold sensation and frowned. "I had hoped it would've taken them a little longer..." She thought replacing the crystal forest with the black void for the second time that day.

She watched, emotionless, as a golden portal opened and three hooded figures got out of it.

"Lady Kara." The figure in the middle said.

"Dren." Bellatrix heard her own voice. "Damn my big mouth." She thought. She was planning to remain silent as long as she could. She looked at the figure on Dren's right. "They really think I'm that stupid?" she thought disgusted.

"You know, my dear lady, usually it's a pleasure to see you..." Dren said taking some steps towards her. "Here we go again." She thought rolling her eyes. "... but I've been informed of something that isn't very pleasant..." he continued in the same tone. "Really? And what would that be?" she thought looking at him. "... I sure hope that the one that informed me made a mistake..." the demon's voice reached her ears making her want to yell at him to shut up. "Keep hoping." She thought. "... but since the mistress told me to keep an eye on you..." he said the shade of a smile appearing on his lips. "I'm insulted!" she wanted to scream, but she kept it in her mind.

The demon continued to talk, but Bellatrix already knew what it was about so she left him talking to the air. She turned her eyes to the two that were with him. Because she was wearing her hood, no one could see where she was looking. She thanked God for it.

Her eyes fell on the figure that was on Dren's right. "Now lets see what's up with you little guy." She thought contemplating the hooded demon. He didn't look strong, at least not physically. "And we all know how Dren loves good looks." She thought. "Then what are you doing here?"

She sniffed the air. Her nose winced at the awful smell. She looked at the figure on Dren's right. "Really, you could at least try to be less obvious." She lectured him in her mind.

She knew the smell. It was the specific smell of a sleeping potion. "A rather simple one too." The girl thought. The potion had to be drunk to work. But since Dren knew that he wouldn't be able to make her drink it, he thought that the vapors that will get in her mouth while they were talking would be enough. She looked at the demon that was rambling about God knows what. She sighed.

She turned to look at the third figure. Even through the robe she could tell that it was a very strong demon. "Wolf demon if I'm not mistaking…" She thought. "So, the little moron thought that he would make me weak with a sleeping potion that any amateur could make and then use a big bad wolf to knock me down, huh? Bravo Dreny, this sounds almost like a plan." She thought smirking. "But I wasn't born yesterday."

She looked at the figure on the demon's right. "Hmm... a little air purifying charm will do the trick." She thought while doing the spell behind her back. "'K., in a few minutes it'll be done." She thought with a playful smile on her lips.

She turned to the wolf demon. "Now what should I do with you big guy?" she asked herself. "Hmm..." she thought while looking behind him. She chanted a little incantation in her mind and something began to silently grow behind the wolf. "This should do it." She thought.

Then she turned her eyes to the demon that was still rambling about how allies should get along and many other things that were foreign to the silver haired girl. The idea of what she'll do to him came in less than a second. "I'm going to enjoy this." The girl thought.

She sniffed the air making sure that her spell did its job. The potion vapors were gone. She smirked. This time Dren noticed it.

"Wha-" he said looking at her.

"Aren't you done yet?" she asked the smirk still on her lips. The three demons were all shocked. But the most shocked was the one on Dren's right.

"How-?" he started, but the girl interrupted him.

"How wasn't I knocked out by your potion? Is that what you wanted to ask?" she said looking at him. The demon stared at her in silence. "Well, let me explain: what you used was a simple sleeping potion, but I think that you already know that. I have to admit that it was a good idea to use potion vapors since you would never be able to make me drink it. It was your idea, huh?" she asked still looking at the demon with the potion. She saw him slightly nodding. "I was sure. Dren isn't that smart." She saw Dren open him mouth to reply, but she didn't let him.

"Shut up Dren, you already talked way too much." She said in a cold tone. Then she looked at the demon on his right. "Do you know who I am?" she asked in the same tone that she'd be asking "what's the time?".

The demon nodded again and spoke for the first time since he came in her sight. "Yes, you are Lady Kara, the one is helping us to find the chosen one and bring her to our Mistress." He answered.

"Hn, you sound like you're in school." She said. She turned to Dren. "Did you actually think that you could bring me down with the help of a school boy?" she asked in an emotionless tone. "You're so pathetic." She hissed.

She turned to the boy who was now really scared. "Let me clear some things in that little head of yours. You certainly know what the Akumu are. And I'm sure that you studied their history, or at least part of it." She looked at the boy waiting for an answer.

He nodded in response. "Then I'm sure that you heard of Nosme." She said looking at him.

"Yes" he answered. "She was one of the greatest warriors of all."

"Do you know what happened with her?" she asked again.

"She did many great things, won many great battles. But after the battle between the Akumu demons and the fire demons she disappeared." The boy answered.

Bellatrix smiled. It was like she was the teacher and he was the student. "Are you sure that's what happened?" she asked.

"There aren't any records of her after that battle. It is presumed that she disappeared after that. No one knows how." Came his response.

"You are wrong my boy." She said looking at him after she made sure that Dren was listening as well. "You see, there are some people that know what happened with her. I am one of them." She said.

Now all the eyes were on her. "Do you want to know what happened?" she asked. The boy nodded and she saw Dren doing the same. She almost laughed.

"She was killed." She said like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Impossible. She was too good." The boy said, for the first time, in a confident tone.

"There is always someone better." She answered.

"And who would that be?" she heard Dren's voice.

"Me." She answered simply. The boy looked at her in shock. "I can see that you really like Nosme. I understand. Many of the ones that follow the lil' princess admire her. If I'm correct, most of her admirers are girls, but many boys have her as a role model as well." She made a little pause. "And from what I can see, you are one of them." She said to the boy.

He was unable to answer. He was too shocked. He barely nodded.

"I thought so." She said and smiled at him. "I think that this little asshole told you that I was your ally, a loyal follower of the princess. Hn, well you know what little boy? I'm not. I work for myself and the ones that are willing to pay the right price." She said, the smile still on her lips. "But you know what? I'll do something for you without any paying." She said, her smile turning in an evil smirk.

By now the boy had a horrified look on his face. He wanted to say something, but his mouth wouldn't listen to him. Dren was also watching in horror, wondering what the girl would do.

"I'm going to give you the honor of being killed by the one that killed your idol." She said and raised her hand. Right then the boy felt a great pain in his chest. He didn't even have the time to scream.

Bellartix stared at the boy's body that was now lying on the ground. It had a big hole in its chest and it was covered in blood. The smell of fresh blood tickled her nose and made her grin. It brought back many memories.

She heard someone moving a little further. She turned to see Dren without his hood on his face. When he was afraid he sweat. His greenish skin was covered in cold sweat and his forest green hair was ruffed. His mouth was slightly opened, reveling his sharp little fangs. Forest demons like him never had long fangs, or claws. But they were very agile and they usually had very good senses. The girl smirked. Maybe Dren had very sharp senses, but he never paid attention. That was the reason why his big, pale green eyes and his big pointy ears were practically useless.

She took a step towards him. "You won't be able to touch me." He said in what he hoped that was a confident tone.

"And why not?" she asked grinning. "You're in my territory Dren. Your reflexes won't help you too much. And if you were hoping that the little wolf would save you, you need another plan." She said still grinning.

At this he instantly turned around to look where the wolf demon was standing. What he saw made his eyes become even bigger. A weird plant had lifted the wolf off the ground a few inches. Dren took a few steps back. He never liked to see too much blood.

The wolf demon was trapped by a strange plant that went through his flesh, like it had grown that way. Not that it wasn't true.

"Impressed?" Dren heard the girl's voice behind and jumped. He found that she was just a few feet away from him.

"What did you do?" he asked, not being able to hide his surprise or his fear.

The girl smirked. "Oh, it's just a little spell I learnt from an old witch." She answered. "Nice, isn't it?" she asked looking at the crimson liquid that was covering the wolf's body. "In a few hours there will be some wonderful flowers there." She said to herself.

"You're probably wondering why you didn't hear a thing, huh?" she asked looking at the demon that managed to annoy the Hell out of her. "You weren't paying attention." She answered the question.

"Why did you do this?" he managed to ask.

"Why?" she sighed. "Because I don't want your help anymore." She said looking at him.

"What? But-" he started.

"Yeah, yeah, I know about your Mistress' magic. But you know something? I don't want anything from her anymore." She hissed.

"What?" he asked shocked.

"No wait, there is something: her head." She said. The demon took a step back.

"Afraid Dren?" she asked grinning at him. "You should be. After all, I am the one that killed one of your greatest warriors of all times." She said starting to walk towards him. "You know Dren, the princess made a big mistake by leaving you here with me. I know that she needed someone who would tell her everything that I say, but isn't clever enough to suspect anything. However, she could've got someone with a little more experience or at least someone who knew at least a little about me so he won't rely on a school boy to take me down." She said.

The demon couldn't move anymore. He was too afraid. Who was this girl?

"Now she will see her mistake. Maybe I'm not powerful enough to bring her down, but I'll sure do my best." She said while looking in his pale green eyes. "You won't be able to do anything." He whispered.

"You think so? Why Dren, don't forget that I've been here on duty for quite a while. That's why I said that she should've put someone smarter than you in your little post. I have found the chosen one, demon. More than that, I've gained her trust, her love, everything that your princess wanted." At this the demon's eyes grew wide with confusion.

"Surprised, Dren? Your Mistress doesn't want the chosen one dead, at least not yet. You heard me. She needs her and that's why she won't do a thing to her, at least not now. But you know something? She will never do anything to her. I'll make sure of that!" she smirked seeing the demon's fear.

"And now I think that I should let her know about this. What do you think of a little present coming along with the news?" she said looking at him.

The forest demon felt fear taking over his body. He turned around and tried to escape to the portal. A flash of light appeared and the demon's body fell on the ground, his blood covering the hard surface.

Bellatrix looked at the body for a few seconds then turned her look at his head. She was holding it by his forest green hair. "Your head will make a nice present for a princess." She said to the lifeless cranium.

She opened a little portal and looked at it for a moment. Then she glanced at Dren's head. "You know something Dren? Since I've met you, this was the most pleasant little chat that the two of us ever had." She said with a smile.

Then she dropped the head in the portal. She reached in her robe and got a crystal rose. She touched its petals with her fingers and murmured something. Then she dropped it in the portal after the demon's head. She closed the portal.

She looked at the three dead bodies and sighted. She raised her hand and they all vanished. The void was replaced with the crystal forest and her black robe disappeared.

She looked around. Nothing there showed what had just happened. She sighed and headed towards the little river.

"Let's see if I can get that miracle." She said while many scenarios of what could happen if her plan failed, began to form in her mind.

* * *

That was Chapter 13. So what do you think? Too much Bella, huh? Well, I told you that I had writer's block, now haven't I? And, well, I wanted to play a little with my Bella.

I really don't know when I'll update Chapter 14. I have my finals in a week and I feel like my brain is empty. Oh, well, I'll do my best and update as fast as I can.

See ya' in the next chapter!


	14. Getting up from the dust

Hi everyone! I'm done with my finals! Yes! That means I'll be able to write more!

Here's Chapter 14. It really isn't the most important of all, but I just felt that I'd go insane if I didn't write this! I hope you'll like it!

Thank you very much .I, Dennis Gerbera, Kimfire, BlueMiracle51, CamillaMB and SithKnight-Galen for reviewing my last chapter. You rock guys!

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina. You're the best!

**Disclaimer:** I'm getting tired of this! All right! I don't own the Power Puff Girls! Happy now?

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 14: Getting up from the dust

Butch looked around trying to find Nosme. She was nowhere sight. However, something in his head told him that this was all a trick and that she was watching him waiting for the best moment to attack. "The bitch!" he thought angered by what he thought that was the demon's strategy.

He started to fly a little higher to take a better look. His eyes scanned the whole place, but he couldn't see anything. He sighed, a little relieved. Then he saw the big crater in the ground and remembered that he should've worried more about something else.

He flew towards the place. He still had his guard up, but now he wasn't thinking about Nosme being a "stupid whore", like he named her in his head.

He looked inside the huge hole. He saw The Green Puff lying on the ground, her body injured and her eyes closed. "Buttercup!" he said flying her way. He forgot all about Nosme in a second.

He reached her body and knelt beside her. He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently shook it. "Buttercup!" he whispered like he was trying to wake her up.

"Oh, come on, girl! You can't die like this! I did much worse to you than that idiot did and you always managed to pull through. Don't give up now!" he said a lot of feelings running trough his heart in the same time.

He tried to get up, but a rock nearby made him trip and fall on top of the brunette girl. "Uh!" he mumbled as he was attempting to get off the girl. Then he heard a soft moan coming from Buttercup's lips. He turned his head to look at her face.

She slowly opened her eyes. At first all was a blur to her, but her vision cleared after she blinked a few times. What she saw surprised her and made her slightly blush.

"Butch!" she exclaimed. "What happened? Where's Nosme? And more important, why are you on top of me?" she nearly screamed.

The boy got off her the next second. "Sorry." He said turning his face away from her, so he wouldn't see the color of his cheeks.

"I asked two more questions." She said looking at him. He looked back at her.

"I don't know." He answered.

"What?"

"I don't know what happened and I don't have a clue of where that demon could be." He said.

She nodded and tried to get up. Unfortunately, her injured body didn't really agree and she fell back on the ground. "Shit!" she cursed under her breath.

"Want some help?" the boy asked, but he didn't wait for her answer. He lifted her off the hard surface. He held her in his arms, not wanting her to fall again.

"Hey! What on Earth do you think you're doing?" she asked looking annoyed.

"Helping you?" he said looking at her flushed face. "She really looks cute this way." He thought.

"Well thank you, but I think I can handle it myself." She said, not believing what was happening.

"You didn't look like you could handle it a few moments ago." He answered, giving her an innocent look.

"Well, now I'm better and you can let me go." She said in a surprisingly calm tone.

"Oh, you really think so?" he asked. He put her on her feet and let her go. In the next moment she lost her balance and almost fell to the ground again. But Butch caught her and lifted her in his arms once again.

"I told you so." He said in a serious tone.

"Oh, shut up and let me go! I just lost my balance." She said.

"All right, I'll let you go. But only when we get to your place, so the Professor can take care of those wounds of yours." He said.

"What!?" she asked looking at him. When she saw his serious expression she glared at him and then turned her head away.

The two flew off.

Cut to Bubbles and Boomer

The blonde girl slowly opened her eyes to see that the demon was gone. She looked around, trying to catch the sight of the brown haired woman. She didn't spot anything.

She sighed in relief. It was finally over. She looked around to see an almost destroyed landscape, with pieces, of what had once been buildings, everywhere. Only the Mayor in Dynamo could've done something worse than that.

She slowly got off the ground and took another look around. Nothing was there beside ruins. Then something caught her eye.

"Boomer!" she exclaimed hurrying to get to the blonde boy. She reached him and almost fell on him. She closed her eyes and used her arms to support herself.

"Oh, God! I didn't just fall on him, did I? Oh please, I don't want him to get even more hurt!" she prayed in her mind. But she couldn't feel anything solid under her. She just felt the hard ground under her hands.

She slowly opened her sky blue eyes to be met by a sight that made her blush bright red. Her face was just inches away from his. He looked like he was in a deep sleep.

"He's so cute." She thought continuing to study him. She brushed away some hair from his face. Then she stroked his cheek looking at his closed eyes. She moved her hand from his cheek and began outlining his eyes.

She heard a small moan coming from his slightly parted lips. She smiled. The memory of the battle that took place just a few minutes ago still persisted in her mind, but it was so far away in that moment, she could've sworn that it had happened days ago.

She ran her hand through his golden hair stopping at certain spots and stroking his head. Her eyes were still fixed on his face. Her eyes widened a little when she saw a little smile on his lips.

"Boomer?" she asked, suddenly remembering where she was. "Oh, God!" she thought, remembering how injured he was.

His blue eyes opened some moments after hearing her voice. "Bubbles?" he asked, not very sure of what was happening. Then it hit him. He remembered Arsione and all she had done. And how she had hurt The Blue Puff.

He tried to get up, but failed. His whole body was aching. "Uhh..." he let out a small growl.

"Don't try to get up!" he heard Bubbles' voice. "You're hurt. Really bad. You should rest a little." She said looking at him with a worry in her eyes.

He returned her look. For a few seconds they stayed in silence. Then the boy noticed something.

"How's your arm?" he asked looking at her injured arm, a sudden urge to kill Arsione filling him.

"Oh, it could've been worse." She said. She almost forgot about her wound. She looked at all the wounds on the boy's body. Most of them were from Arsione's final attack. "It was me who should've got all those wounds." She thought sadly.

She reached out her hand and gently touched one of the wounds on his chest. She stroked the spot. Boomer looked at her doing that. It didn't hurt. Her touch was gentle and it made him feel very comfortable. He felt heat rising in his cheeks, as he placed his hand on her head.

She turned to look at him and their gazes met. They stayed like that for several minutes, just staring into each others eyes.

"We should go home so the Professor can take care of you." Bubbles broke the silence.

He nodded and she got up. Then she helped him up as well. He used her shoulder to support himself.

"Let's go." He said. They took off.

Cut to Blossom and Brick

As the bright light disappeared the dust started to settle down and the darkness that the demon had created vanished along with her. The echo of her scream was the only proof that she had been there just moments ago.

However, evidence of her existence was everywhere. Everything was almost completely destroyed. The scene looked like it had been pulled out of a documentary about the Second World War. The only difference was that there weren't so many dead bodies.

In fact there were no human victims. On the ground, in the middle of what was once a building, was the body of a boy. But he wasn't dead. He was breathing, though he was making a big effort to do it. He slowly opened his red eyes.

He stood there, staring into space, without really seeing anything. He blinked after a few moments, flashbacks of the battle he had just been through coming to his mind with the speed of light.

He continued to stare at the dark sky remembering the dark figure, with the porcelain mask. That thing was very strong. He didn't want to admit it, but he had been really scared. Meeting someone as strong as that made him worried. What if there were more of those creatures?

His eyes widened when he remembered something. That demon still had Blossom when he had been knocked out. "No!" he thought. He shut his eyes tight for a few seconds. He demanded for his brain to concentrate and not let panic take over. He tried to keep his mind clear, but he couldn't help but worry. He couldn't stand the idea of her being gone. Funny… a few days ago he would've been very happy if something like that happened.

He got off the ground with the price of a great pain. He tried hard not to scream. He just let out a loud growl and touched the big wound he had on his chest. He winced at his own touch and suppressed another scream.

He slowly got out of the dust that was surrounding him. He began walking forward, searching for Blossom. In his way, he looked at what remained after their battle. It was weird because he felt a little sorry. He usually didn't care what happened to the place he had fought in.

He sighed. "Maybe it's because of this 'Good Side' thing." he thought. "I have to ask Blossom about it." He had developed a little habit of thinking that, every time he didn't understand something. He doubted that he would ever do it though.

As he walked he felt a strange sensation... like someone was watching him. He quickly turned around, afraid that he could see the dark figure a few feet away from him. But he couldn't see anyone behind him. He turned in all the other directions, but with no result. There was nothing there. He felt a little annoyed as the strange sensation persisted.

"Uh, great! Now I'm getting paranoid!" he thought. He took a few more steps and spotted something. He went towards it, his heart beating fast. As he got closer he recognized the figure.

"Blossom!" he yelled. Though his body was aching he got near her surprisingly fast. He kneeled beside her.

The red haired girl was lying on the hard surface. She was unconscious and Brick could tell that she was exhausted. "Maybe se fought with that demon after I was knocked out and she managed to beat it." He thought. "This time I really have to ask her about it." He thought.

He picked her head up and rested it in his lap. If it wasn't for the few injuries on her body, he would have never thought that she had been into a big fight. He brushed some of her hair off her pale face.

Then, he studied her wounds. She had gotten most of them when they were fighting together. There was only one that he had no idea where it could've come from. It was on her cheek. It wasn't serious. But it looked like it had been burned there. He touched the spot with his hand. He felt the girl wince at his touch. He looked at her face.

Her eyes were slightly moving. They opened a few moments later. Red met pink and they held their gazes locked for several minutes.

"Blossom?" Brick broke the silence. He wanted to say something more, but the girl's gentle voice stopped him.

"Are you O.K.?" she asked. He wasn't expecting that, but he answered.

"Yeah. Nothing too serious." He said. "You?"

"Same. Just a little tired." She said resting her head on his chest, next to the big wound. She started to caress the spot. Her hand ran gently over the injured skin. He blushed and smiled slightly, understanding what was in her mind.

"We'd better go." He said looking at the sky, the annoying sensation of being watched coming back. He felt her nod. He picked her up, bridal style, and took off, before he made sure that there was no one around.

Far away from there, two grey eyes were watching the red headed boy in a small lake. As the events followed their way, the grey eyed figure smiled warmly.

"I believe that I should play the same game as you do…" the figure whispered staring into space. "I just hope that you are correct." The whisper could be heard as the figure walked away.

* * *

So… that's it!

Sorry for the bad grammar!

Bye! See ya' in Chapter 15!


	15. Clueless

Hey everyone! I don't have much to say. I just hope you'll like this chapter.

Thanks to FireFox ShadowWolf, Dennis Gerbera, rubyinnle, SithKnight-Galen and BlueMiracle51 for reviewing the last chapter. You're great guys!

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina. You're the best!

**Disclaimer: **I'm bored of doing this. I don't own the Power Puff Girls.

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**On the right side**

Chapter 15: Clueless

At the Utonium residence, the Professor was busy working on an experiment. He was very surprised to see the six super-powered kids entering the lab, badly injured.

"Oh my..." he started, but was interrupted by the green eyed girl.

"We're here! Now let me go!" she said, slightly glaring at her counterpart. If looks could kill, Butch would've been long gone by then.

The boy sighed and walked to the medical wing. He placed her on one of the beds. They looked at each other for a few seconds.

"Thank you." She said. Then the two brunettes heard some giggles. They turned around to see the others with weird looks on their faces. Boomer was still leaning on Bubbles' shoulder and he was trying hard not to burst into laughter. Bubbles was supporting Boomer and was giggling like crazy. Brick had let go of Blossom, but he was still close to her, just to be sure. He had a huge smirk on his face. Blossom was looking in Buttercup's eyes with an eyebrow raised and a little grin on her lips. The Professor was just confused.

"Look at yourselves before you say anything." Butch said not in the mood to handle the four.

They did what the brunette boy said and blushed a little. They were a little too close. Butch smirked. He had won that time.

The Professor looked at them for a few seconds. "What happened?" he asked.

"HIM caught us off guard." Brick answered, leaning on Blossom's arm to support himself. He was holding one hand over his chest, which was badly injured.

"HIM?" the man asked confused.

"Yeah! He hasn't given up." Bubbles said helping Boomer.

"Well, what did he do?" he asked again.

"Professor, could we tell you a little later? Now we're all tired and we're not in the best shape." Blossom said, lying down on the bed.

"O.K. I'd better check your injuries." The Professor said getting his medical equipment.

They all nodded and sat down on the beds (**A/N:** different ones). The Professor did his job and checked them all out.

"Well, Professor?" Buttercup asked after he had finished with everyone.

"You'll all be O.K., I'll just give you some pills and clean up your wounds. Then you'll be fine after a good sleep. However, you should stay here, just in case." He answered.

They nodded and the Professor smiled. Then he went to get what he needed.

"I guess you were right." The brunette girl said looking at her red headed sister.

The girl nodded. "Something tells me that wasn't HIM's last call." She said staring at the ceiling.

"What do you mean?" Boomer asked.

"I'm not really sure, but I don't think that demon just disappeared, like that." The Pink Puff answered.

"You met a demon too?" Butch said, getting up a little, but falling back down the next second.

"Yeah! And it was a tough one too." Brick answered. "What about you?" he asked the others.

"A demon named Arsione attacked us." Bubbles said. "She was really strong and fast."

"Same here." Buttercup said. "Nosme was the biggest challenge of all."

"You?" Boomer asked looking at the red heads.

"Well, it was a demon. But it was nothing like I've ever seen. It was very powerful. We didn't really see it. It was wearing a robe and a mask." The Red Ruff said.

"I saw her." The red headed girl said. The others turned to look at her.

"Before I fainted, I managed to break her mask." She said.

"'Her' mask?" Brick asked.

"Yeah, it was a girl. She didn't really look like a demon, more like a very sick 10 year old girl." She said.

Brick opened his mouth to say something more, but he was interrupted by the Professor coming in.

"O.K. kids. I'll be done soon enough." The man said taking what he needed. After he finished, the six felt weird and tired.

"I feel funny." Butch commented.

"I gave you something that will help your bodies heal quicker." The Professor said.

"You'll get used to this feeling. It's not the best one in the world, but it doesn't last." Buttercup said, her eyes half closed.

"O.K., now, you should get some rest." The man said.

"'K! Good night Professor!" Bubbles said.

"Don't forget that after you wake up I want to hear what happened." He said walking away.

"Yeah, whatever!" Buttercup yawned.

The Professor smiled and walked out of the lab.

"We're really going to tell him?" Brick asked looking at the door that was closing.

"Yeah." Bubbles said. "And maybe he'll have an idea about what we could do."

The others nodded. Blossom looked at the ceiling. "I'm not sure how the Professor could help us." She thought remembering what Bellatrix told her about the crystal.

"We should really get some sleep." The red headed girl said looking at the others. "If HIM tries something else, we have to be in top shape." She said. They all nodded and closed their eyes. The Pink Puff looked at them one more time before letting her mind slip into the crystal forest.

She opened her eyes to be met by the familiar sight of Bellatrix's word. She smiled when she saw her friend sitting nearby.

"Hey Bella!" the red head said walking towards her.

"Hi Blossom!" the silver haired girl answered getting up.

For several seconds they looked in each other's eyes.

Blossom was a little confused by what had happened. The image of the pale demon that she had battled was still fresh in her mind. When she had looked in the girl's cold eyes she felt hypnotized. It was one of the demon's powers, she was sure of it. She had been so scared, but yet so fascinated by the icy blue eyes of the creature. She was scared of what the demon could do to her and to the others; she was scared of the effect the demon had on her. Yet the demon seemed so interesting. Now that she thought of it, she considered the girl very beautiful; she had the kind of beauty that you don't have from birth, but the beauty that someone gains over the years. And judging by her eyes, she had lived a long life. Those icy blue eyes looked so old and held so much knowledge and experience that they scared the red head. She wondered who this demon was.

Bellatrix, on the other hand had different and yet very similar thoughts as Blossom did. She was thinking of what she had to do. The chances of her plan working were so small that she wasn't sure if she should even try to do it. "No!" she thought. "If there is even one little chance to do it then I'll take it." She concentrated again on Blossom's eyes. She felt the girl's confusion and almost smiled. Her confusion would play an important role in her plan. She would be easier to convince. She studied the red head's face. She seemed in deep thought. The silver haired girl couldn't help but take a look at her thoughts. But what she saw made her frown.

"Chayen." Bellartix thought. "You know something, Bloss? You're right. She really is beautiful." She continued her thoughts. "But beauty is just a mask. Any kind of outside beauty is nothing more than a mask. And in many cases, it hides a most dreadful monster." The purple eyed girl didn't know why she was mentally lecturing her friend, when she knew that the red head couldn't even hear her. "I'm scared, that's why. I'm scared that it could happen again." She mentally answered her own question. Her thoughts were interrupted by her friend's voice.

"I can't believe what happened." The Pink Puff said.

"I can!" the other girl said. "And I believe that this isn't over." She had to get to work. She was running out of time with every second that passed. Her plan would never work if the girl was thinking straight, logically. She was practically going to try to convince Blossom of an aberration. She sighed. For a second she asked herself why she even trying was.

"Yeah! I don't like to admit it, but I think HIM has something even bigger for us." The pink eyed girl said looking down. Bellatrix nodded. "Because it's the less horrible way." The purple eyed girl answered the question that she asked herself a few moments ago.

"You know, I was thinking..." the silver headed girl started. Her friend's eyes turned to her the next second. "... even if HIM is more powerful since he got the crystal, it's still HIM. He still has his weaknesses that we know. We should use this."

Blossom looked at her friend. She did have a point. She was about to accept her idea when something came into her mind. Something that she had sworn never to forget again. She looked in her friend's eyes. It would've been so simple to accept her theory. But she wasn't going to do it.

"You forgot your own words Bella." She said looking down.

"What do you mean?" the girl asked a little confused.

"'Always ask "why?" before "how?"', remember?" came the answer. The silver haired girl looked at her. "I should've known she would remember" Bellatrix thought gazing at her friend.

"Now, you asked "How can he be defeated?" and you're trying to find the answer." The red head begun. "But first we have to ask "Why is he doing all this now, since he had the crystal for quite a while?". Answer: because he's desperate. He thought that the boys would be able to beat us so he took his time with them. But now, his time is coming to an end and he's desperate. And desperate people don't really act like themselves. In this case your idea won't work." The pink eyed girl said, sighing. "I wish it could've been so easy, but it's not."

Bellatrix stared at her. She was right in everything she said. "Oh, why did I even hope?" She asked herself. "Note to self: never ever hope that your plan will work if it's based on a miracle." She thought. If she was going to do things the easy way, it was crucial for the red head to accept her theory, to keep her away her form the real problem and so it wouldn't even touch her. But she had lost her chance and now, any result the battle with HIM would have, she'd need to do her "job" the hard way. "Even if they do manage to defeat HIM, they will never be able to face the Princess." The silver haired girl thought. "At least not yet." Her thought continued as her eyes studied her friend's features. "Your time will come my dear. You'll just have to be patient."

"Have you thought of anything?" Bellartix asked her friend.

"Not really. But we need to think straight. We can't use what we know about HIM, because in this case we don't really know anything." Blossom said.

"What do you suggest?"

Blossom closed her eyes and began walking in no particular direction. The silver headed girl watched her do that. She had learnt that was one of the ways the red head managed to think better. She smiled. Every time her friend did that she managed to come up with an idea. It wasn't always a very good one, but it was always a good start. However, seeing The Pink Puff doing that, made her loose her concentration. She couldn't help it. She had decided long ago that she would never read her thoughts when she was doing that, so the girl would be able to surprise her with what she managed to solve on her own. Again, Blossom's voice interrupted the purple eyed girl's thoughts.

"Well..." she began "... if we can't use what we know about HIM, then we should use what we know about the crystal." She finished her idea.

"You mean, cut his power source?" the purple eyed girl asked her friend.

"You got it."

"Easier said than done." Bellatrix commented.

"Tell me about it. But there has to be a way. I mean, if Fubuki did it, I don't see why we wouldn't be able to do it too." Blossom said looking at the other girl.

"O.K., I got your point. What do we know?" Bellatrix asked looking back at the red head.

"Hmm... Fubuki destroyed the mirror when all the feelings were mixed up in it." Came the answer.

"That's not much and not very helpful either." the silver haired girl commented.

Blossom nodded. It wasn't much, but that was all she had so she had to get used to it. "She destroyed it..." she whispered to herself, though the other girl could hear her.

"... with an energy attack. If the legends are correct, a simple one." Bellatrix said looking at her friend.

Blossom stared at the girl in front of her for several minutes. She thought of what she had just heard. It hit her five minutes later.

"WHAT?" she almost screamed.

"You were going to ask me how she destroyed the mirror." The silver headed girl said not understanding her friend's reaction.

"No, I wasn't talking about that." The red head said. Bellatrix raised a brow.

"Then what were you talking about?" she asked.

Blossom looked at her friend like she was crazy. "Don't you think it's a little strange that the thing considered to be one of the most powerful weapons in the world could be destroyed with a simple attack?"

"Oh..." was the only thing Bellatrix could say. She never really thought of this. She just knew the legends, but things like these never posed an interest to her so she never paid attention to them. Now that she thought of it, it really didn't make sense. The mirror had been made to be unbeatable. A simple energy attack would have never destroyed it.

"It's impossible, not to mention illogical. It has to be something else." Blossom said getting angry. She didn't like it when she didn't have all the information or if what she had wasn't correct. She began walking up and down the whole area again.

"A simple attack is just illogical. Fubuki hadn't spent a week alone with the damn thing just for the sake of it. It has to be something else." The red head muttered. As always, Bellatrix heard her.

"If it was something else, we don't know anything about it." The silver haired girl said.

Blossom muttered a curse under her breath. She started mumbling. "A whole week... alone... for what?... a simple attack? No way... then what?..."

Bellatrix watched her friend. She was really nervous. "Trying to get in the mind of a legend." She thought. "You're the only one that can do that girl." She said in her mind. She wasn't trying to think of anything. She knew that if someone could find the answer, that was Blossom. "It would be better to find a way to calm her down." She thought closing her eyes. She opened them a few seconds later and looked at the red head again. It was like she was retelling everything she told her a night before.

"... when it had everything in it..." the silver haired girl heard Blossom mumble. "... good feelings... bad feelings... her feelings, everyone's feelings..." she said walking faster. Then she stopped.

Her pink orbs were staring into space. She wasn't moving. Everything she knew about that story was replaying in her mind at top speed. Her brain worked very fast. "I got it!" she said. She turned to Bellatrix. "Bella, I know how to stop HIM." She said. She didn't let her friend react, because she went to the portal between her world and Bella's world faster than the silver haired girl could blink.

Before she walked in she heard Bellatrix yell. "Wait! How?" She smiled and turned around for a second. "The same way Fubuki did." She answered and disappeared in the portal.

For the first time in her life, Bellatrix was clueless.

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First I thought I should continue, but I want to see if anyone would figure out what Blossom has in mind. Now let's see the detectives in you at work! Tell me what you think!

See ya' in the next chapter!


	16. The plan

Hi everyone! I've finally finished Chapter 16 and here it is! I hope you'll like it!

Thanks to Sarrowz, CamillaMB, shadowedstar213, Dennis Gerbera, Kimfire, Sara, BlueMiracle51 and PPGfan for reviewing my last chapter! You are so cool guys!

And congratulations to Kimfire who was the closest to guessing what was Blossom's plan! Now you'll all find out what it was about. But if you ask me it's kinda' simple.

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina! I love you, girls!

**Disclaimer:** I hate the person that invented this stupid thing! Oh, alright! I don't own the Power Puff Girls and I don't care who does, 'cause this story is mine!

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**On the right side**

Chapter 16: The plan

Blossom slowly woke up from her sleep. She opened her eyes and got into a sitting position. She yawned and then looked straight ahead. It was still dark, probably very early in the morning. She turned her head to look at the other kids that were resting in the room.

Her eyes landed on her green eyed sister. She had a little frown on her face. The red head smiled. She knew her sister so well. She could even tell what she was dreaming of. She was dreaming of the demon that managed to beat her. What was her name? Oh, yes! Nosme. She wondered how she looked, what was the way she acted. She knew that if she asked the two brunettes they'd just tell her how stupid and bitchy she was. She shook her head. She knew that her sister would never change and she had the feeling that neither will her counterpart.

She looked at The Green Ruff. Like the dark headed girl, he too had a little frown on his face. She grinned. How could the two brunettes look so alike? It was almost like an image in a mirror. The word rang in her head like a bell. "The mirror." She thought. "Fubuki's mirror." She continued her thoughts. She closed her eyes. She hadn't seen what had happened thousands of years ago, when the world had become as she knew it. However, since Bellatrix had told her that story she tried to visualize what had happened there. Every time she tried, she got something else. Only one thing was constant: Fubuki.

The Pink Puff opened her eyes, the image of the white girl still in her mind. She smiled. She didn't know why, but she was sure that the image she had in her head was the real Fubuki. Her smile grew wider as the name rang in her head. "Snow storm" she whispered. The name fitted the girl so much.

She had always imagined Fubuki as a beautiful girl. Her name said that. How could she not be? Snow was, in her opinion, the symbol of beauty. How could something so pure not be a symbol? And storm... What could storm be other than the overflow of the Sky's beauty over the beauty of Earth? She closed her eyes once again with a smile on her lips.

Snow and Storm... two beautiful things that named the little witch who made the world the way it was now. Snow and Storm... two beautiful things which were also so dangerous. But isn't beauty dangerous by definition? She opened her eyes and sighed. Purity and danger combined in one thing... one person... a witch... one girl who destroyed a world and created another one.

She turned her eyes to the two blondes. They seemed so peaceful. She studied their faces for some time. She smiled. She looked at her sister for several minutes. She made a mental note to ask her to teach her how to draw. She wanted to draw the little white witch. She never believed that she could immortalize the witch's dangerous beauty. "Dangerous beauty..." she thought. Wasn't that a pleonasm? "Dangerous beauty..." Yes, it was.

She looked at the blondes and tried to compare the two. Bubbles was plain peaceful. You couldn't see anything else on her features. For a moment Blossom wondered if that was a normal thing. No. It had to be something else there. She looked more attentively at her. Bubbles always had that look on her face when she was sleeping. Except for the moments when she had awful nightmares. Sometimes the fact that she couldn't read Bubbles' emotions in her sleep actually got on her nerves. It was much easier with Buttercup. Though, when they woke up, they always switched places. This kind of change could really get someone pissed.

She stared at her sister for a few more minutes. After waiting some more she saw something: fear. She was having a bad dream. The little sign that appeared on her face was too small for the red head to say that she was having a real nightmare, but she was sure that she wasn't dreaming about something nice.

The Pink Puff turned her eyes to the blonde boy. He wasn't like Bubbles. His sleep showed a little more. Not as much as Buttercup and Butch, but it was certainly more than Bubbles. A less experienced observer would've never noticed all the feelings that Boomer's sleep was showing; he would only see a peaceful boy. Like Bubbles, there was fear on his features, but unlike the blonde girl there was so much more: worry, anger, sadness. She was sure what they were dreaming of. They were dreaming of that demon, Arsione. She knew it. They weren't easy to read, but she wasn't an amateur either.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Something came into her mind. How was she going to tell them about her plan? She couldn't tell them about Bellatrix. She didn't want to. Bellatrix was her secret. Everyone had the right to hold secrets. And even if she did decide to tell them, how would she do that? "Uh, guys, I have to tell you something. I have some kind of imaginary friend in my head, her name is Bellatrix and she's my conscience too. And she told me this story about how a fifteen year old girl created the world we know by destroying a magical mirror. And that crystal HIM has is a piece from that mirror and it has a huge power that could destroy us all. Oh but don't worry, I know how we could handle this...". "Yeah right. This will definitely work." She thought. She hit her pillow with her fist. "What the Hell am I going to do?" she asked herself.

She sighed again and turned her eyes to her counterpart who was sleeping on the bed next to her. She smiled at him. "He's cute." She thought examining his features. She stopped her action and thought about what she had just thought. Was he really cute? "Hmm... well, let's see..." she thought. She began studying him once again. In his sleep, Brick's features looked very delicate, just like a child's. She stopped her thoughts. "Brick... delicate... child..." she said in her mind. "Are these words even capable of being in the same sentence?" she asked herself. "Never thought so." For a second her brain stopped working. "Oh well, there's a first time for everything." She thought again.

She resumed her study. He didn't have his signature red cap on, so his long hair was covering the pillow and a part of his face. She, involuntary, pulled a face. She didn't want his figure to be covered. She sighed, accepting the situation. Returning to her actions she began observing what was running pass his face. There was a little fear there. And anger, there was a lot of anger on his features. "What could make him so angry?" she asked herself. Maybe she'll ask him when he wakes up. She realized what she had just thought. "Hell no! I'm not telling him that I was watching him when he was sleeping!" she screamed in her head. Again, the realization of what she thought came a little late. She smacked her fist on her forehead. "Uh! Stupid brain! Thinking like a bloody teenager."

She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths. After a few minutes she calmed down and looked at her sleeping counterpart once again. Maybe, just maybe, he was dreaming of that weird girl that attacked them. She looked closer. She had to know. By his expression she was almost sure that the dark demon was in his dreams. And if it wasn't her, then it was HIM. She couldn't think of anything else that could make the red headed boy look so angry in his sleep.

Suddenly a smirk passed her lips. She knew how to tell the others about her plan and keep Bellatrix her secret at the same time. "Dreams can say so much…" She thought smiling. She heard something and turned around to see that Buttercup was beginning to move. She was waking up. "Let's get to action." The red head thought. Then she lay back down and closed her eyes.

The red head heard her sister getting up surprisingly fast. "Shit!" she heard the brunette saying. She was probably thinking of her dream, or nightmare. "But she said that a little too loud." The Pink Puff thought.

She was right. She heard someone else moving. Judging by the place she heard the noise coming from she could tell that it was Butch. The boy got into a sitting position and yawned loudly. "And I thought Buttercup was loud." Blossom said in her mind.

"Good morning!" she heard her sister saying.

"Mornin'" came the response.

"Did you sleep well?" the brunette girl asked.

"Pretty well." He answered. "You?" There was a brief silence before The Green Puff gave the answer.

"I dreamed about Nosme." She said.

"Me too." The boy said.

"I knew it!" Blossom cheered in her head.

Then she heard a loud Buff. Someone had fallen to the ground. Who was it?

"Oww..." she heard someone growl in pain. It was Bubbles.

"What's wrong sis? Bed's too small for you?" Buttercup's voice rang through the whole room. "Are you trying to wake up the dead?" Blossom asked her sister in her mind.

"Bubbles? What happened?" the red head heard Boomer's voice.

She heard Bubbles getting up from the floor. "Where's Arsione?" she asked a little confused.

"Huh? What are you talking about Bubs'?" she heard the green eyed girl ask.

"You dreamed about her too?" Boomer asked ignoring Buttercup.

"Yeah. I Arsione was in my dream. You too?" Bubbles said.

"Uh huh." The blonde boy nodded.

"We dreamed Nosme." Butch said. He was probably motioning to him and Buttercup.

"And I dreamed about that demon that attacked me and Blossom." She heard Brick's voice.

"Bingo!" Blossom thought. "Now the real fun begins." The red headed girl began tossing and turning in her bed like she was having an awful nightmare.

"Blossom!" she heard Bubbles' scream. She suppressed a smile and continued her act. She let out a little yelp and violently turned on the other side. Her hand had hit something, something hard. "Shit!" she thought without stopping. She had forgotten about the little tables that were separating the beds.

She felt a hand grabbing her wrist. "Blossom!" she heard Brick's voice. Was that worry in his voice? "Hmm... maybe I've gone a little too far…" She thought. With that she decided to stop. So she grabbed the hand that was still holding her wrist. She turned her head and opened her eyes putting in them all the terror she was capable of.

Her pink orbs met Brick's red ones. "Why is he so worried?" she asked herself staring in his eyes.

"Blossom, what's wrong?" she heard Buttercup's voice.

"I..." she began, looking around, like she was trying to figure out where she was. "I had a nightmare." She answered, doing her best for her voice to sound weak.

"What was it about?" Brick asked helping her up.

"It was... that demon, but only in the beginning..." she said.

"We all had nightmares about the demons that attacked us." Butch said looking at the others.

"What happened in your dreams?" Blossom asked.

"We were fighting and the demon was winning." Boomer answered. The others nodded. That happened in their dreams too.

"Anything else?" the red headed girl asked.

"Well, before I woke up, there was a bright light in which the demon disappeared." Buttercup answered.

"I saw something more." Brick said. All the eyes turned to him. "After that demon disappeared, just before I woke up, I saw the crystal. I saw the demon going into that thing." The boy said.

"You are such a lifesaver Brick!" Blossom thought, making a big effort to not hug him. "I saw even more." The red headed girl said. Now everyone had their attention on her. "I heard HIM calling those demons back to him. He said that everything was ready." She stopped for a moment.

"And? What else?" Buttercup asked, really curious. Blossom closed her eyes like she was in deep thought. A few seconds later she opened her eyes and looked at the others.

"I know how to stop HIM!" she said firmly.

"How?" Boomer asked.

"Well, he's using that crystal he used on the boys. He sent us these dreams, probably meaning to scare us, but, I don't really know how, he made a mistake and I was able to see further and I saw that crystal and the way to destroy it." She said. "Remember what Brick told us that he heard when HIM got the crystal? That figure said that the crystal was held in pure evil. That's its weakness." She smiled a little.

"But how is being held in pure evil a weakness?" Bubbles asked with a confused look on her face.

"It is." Blossom said. "You see, that crystal has, in a way, a mind of its own. Don't look at me like that. I know it's kinda' weird, but what's not weird when it comes to HIM?" she said when she saw the way that the blondes and the brunettes were looking at her. Brick was silent, but his eyes were telling her to continue. "Well, nothing that has a mind can fight against something that it doesn't have knowledge of. And by holding the crystal in pure evil it became vulnerable to good."

"Are you saying that we have to go there all lovely and..." Buttercup said, but was cut off by her red headed sister.

"Of course not! But when we'll attack it we mustn't think of how much we hate HIM or the crystal itself. We need to have something... nice in our mind. Something that doesn't have anything to do with evil." She said.

"O.K. that sounds simple enough." Butch said still trying to understand what the girl had said.

"But it won't be that easy, huh?" Brick said looking at Blossom. She nodded. He continued. "HIM probably knows about this weakness and so he made sure that the crystal can't be easily reached."

"And that's why we'll have to split up." Blossom said. The others nodded. "There is something else you need to know about that crystal in order to destroy it. When it's attacked, it has to be done hard and fast, no pause. Laser beams are too weak for this, but there is something that isn't." The Pink Puff said.

"And what's that?" Boomer asked.

Blossom looked at her sisters. "Girls, do you remember how we stopped Dynamo when the Mayor got in it?" she said. The two girls looked back at her.

"Yeah, I remember." Bubbles said.

"That's what we have to do." Blossom said looking very serious.

"I thought you told us never to let you do that again." Buttercup said looking at her sister with a little smirk on her face.

Blossom returned her smirk. "I take back what I said."

"The Mayor in... what?" Brick asked not knowing what they were talking about.

"The Mayor got in the Professor's giant robot and started to, involuntary, destroy the town. We stopped him with a special attack (**A/N:** I totally forgot what that attack was called)." Bubbles answered the question.

"The Mayor destroying the town?" Butch said with a what-the-Hell look on his face.

"Don't ask." Buttercup said rolling her eyes.

"So, we know what the teams will be." Blossom said in that bossy tone that no one could say no to. "Boys, you'll distract HIM and the girls and I will go after the crystal."

Brick opened his mouth to protest but Blossom cut him off. "No Brick, we'll go. It's easier this way. We have three robots that look exactly like us and have the same powers as us which we use for training. If you three go with those robots then HIM will be less suspicious so it won't be too hard for us to get to him. Secondly, we don't really have time. HIM could attack in any moment. It will take the Professor less time to program those robots then it would take you guys to learn that attack." She looked in his eyes. "Believe me, now it's not only HIM that's running out of time. We know how to destroy the crystal, but we have no idea what it can do before we even reach it. We have to move as fast as we can."

Brick nodded accepting the situation. So did the rest of the kids.

"O.K., now we have a plan, we'll just have to put it to action." Buttercup said.

"We'll make our move after HIM makes his. So until then, I think we have time to get ready." Brick said looking at the others. They nodded.

"Now we'll just wait and see." Blossom thought. She looked up. "I don't know where you are or even what happened to you, but, if you can hear me, please help me. I know that this is the way you did it, but I don't think I'm strong enough to do what you did. Whether you wanted or not, you're the one that started this. I don't know if I can end it, but be sure that I'll do my best. And I want you near me when I do it." She said in her mind, to a figure that crossed her thoughts. The figure lingered for a moment and looked at the red head with deep dark eyes. Then, it was gone.

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Chapter 16 is done!

Just so you know, I'll be out of town for the next week, so I won't be writing anything 'till I come back. But I promise that the first thing I'll do when I get back will be getting to work on Chapter 17!

See ya' in the next chapter!


	17. Moments together

Hello everyone! I am very very very sorry for making you wait so long! But my computer broke down. Naughty machinery, always breaking down when I need it! Oh well, the important thing is that I got it back and now I can write again. And here's Chapter 17, a little late, but at least it is.

This story is dedicated to my cousins, Mara and Irina.

Thank you very much CamillaMB, Sara, Dennis Gerbera, rubyinnle, BlueMiracle51, Sarrowz and WolfKeeper989 for reviewing my last chapter! You are the best!

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own the Power Puff Girls.

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**On the right side**

Chapter 17: Moments together

In the lab's med wing, silence had lost the battle against the kids' need to talk. Or at least the blondes' and the brunettes' need to talk. The four of them were discussing every aspect of the action that they were going do as soon as HIM was going to attack. They were worried, but they hoped that the moment would come as fast as possible so they would be able to end it as soon as possible.

The red heads, on the other hand, were silent. Blossom was staring at nothing in particular. She wasn't thinking about anything in particular either. Her mind was jumping from one thought to another, without being able to concentrate on any of the things that crossed her brain.

The image of her silver haired friend came into her mind only to be replaced by the cold icy blue eyes of the strange demon and then the memory of Brick's eyes when she looked in them a few minutes ago. She stopped at that thought for a few moments. Why had he been so worried? Had she gone that far with her act? She really doubted it. Then what could it be?

She felt a pair of eyes on her. She didn't need to look back to find out who it was. She could practically see the red eyes of her counterpart fixed on her. But there was another reason she didn't look back at him. At first she wasn't sure what it was, but in the next second she could perfectly tell what she was feeling. She was afraid. But why would she be afraid? She thought for a moment. What reason could she have to fear Brick? His eyes… his look. She was scared that he'd have that worried look again if she turned to face him. And she was sure that if that happened she would never be able to remain as careless as last time. And she couldn't afford that kind of weakness if she wanted to keep Bellatrix for herself.

"Bella..." she thought. Why did she want to keep the silver haired girl only for herself? She wasn't sure. That was a very selfish thing. But she couldn't help it. For some reason, she knew that the inhabitant of the crystal forest was so much more than it could be seen. And the red head was determined to find Bellatrix's every secret before she would allow someone else to even suspect something about the girl's existence.

She was sure that if she turned around in that moment and found those red orbs filled with worry like they were last time, she wouldn't be able to resist. If he asked the simplest question about what was happening she would tell the truth. She never liked to lie and she felt rather bad that she had to do it so often in order to protect her secret. But with him, it was even worse, because something inside her was screaming at her that he knew perfectly well that she wasn't being honest. A small sigh escaped her slightly parted lips as she allowed her mind to move to something else.

That sigh didn't remain unnoticed by the red headed boy, who had been watching his counterpart for some time. He was sure that she had felt his eyes on her. He couldn't explain why she didn't turn around. A part of him was glad that she ignored him, but the other was upset with this. He didn't know what, but he was sure that there was something else to that story than it met the eye. And he was almost sure that Blossom knew, if not all of it, then more than she had let them know.

But that didn't really make sense. Why would she hide that kind of information from them? They were allies now, weren't they? Then what was wrong? Why didn't she want to share what she knew with the others? Unless...

His eyes widened a little at the thought that had just crossed his mind. "No. This is not true." He said in his head, trying to deny what was becoming more and more obvious, in his point of view. He looked at the Pink Puff with hurt eyes.

Did she still consider him her rival... her enemy? Was that the reason she hid the details from him? Did she only tell her sisters? Did she think that if she would let him come with her he would betray her? The thought went through his heart like a knife. He had to know for sure.

He reached his hand and touched her shoulder. He felt her startle at his action. She looked at the hand that had interrupted her thoughts and when she realized who it belonged to she turned to face him.

Pink met red and they held the gaze for a few seconds. During those seconds both their brains stopped working. Every little thing that had crossed their minds a moment ago disappeared. They stood there, immune to the noise made by their siblings.

However, when the Professor entered the room they almost instantly broke their gaze. The blondes and the brunettes stopped their conversation and looked at the tall man too.

"Well, how are you feeling this morning?" he asked, looking from one kid to another.

"Better than yesterday, be sure of that!" Buttercup exclaimed smiling. The others nodded.

"Okay, but I have to check you one more time." The Professor said. The kids nodded.

After half an hour the Professor was done. "Well, you're as good as new." He said.

"Thanks!" Boomer said, with a smile.

"Professor?" Blossom said with a serious look on her face.

"What is it dear?" the man asked turning to face her.

"Remember those Power Puff robots you made for our training?" she asked in her serious tone.

"Yes, of course. They're here, in the lab." The Professor answered. "Why do you ask?"

"How much time would it take you to reprogram them?" the red headed girl asked ignoring her father's question.

"A few hours, with the small repairs I would have to do." The brunette man responded. "But why-"

"We'll need them. We know how to beat HIM, but we need a diversion. Those robots will be perfect." The Pink Puff answered the Professor's question.

The Professor opened his mouth to say something, but the red haired girl cut him off. She explained her plan to the Professor in short terms. The others noticed that she didn't tell him about what they had to do about their feelings or anything related to this. The boys wondered why, but the girls knew that if the Professor knew about all that he would ask more questions and that would cost them time.

After hearing Blossom's plan and arguments the man nodded. "Okay, I'll get to work. Meanwhile, you 6 should get some more rest. When HIM attacks you should be in top shape." He said, getting up. He went to another part of the lab.

After he left the kids looked at each other. They weren't tired anymore and five of them were a little scared of falling asleep and having nightmares again.

"So what do we do now?" Butch asked.

"Well, I don't know what you want to do, but I want to train." Buttercup said getting up and motioning to the simulator.

"I'm with you." The brunette boy said getting up too.

"What do you say?" Buttercup asked the others.

"No thanks. I want to take a shower." Blossom answered, hoping she would have some more time think in the bathroom.

"I'll be next." Bubbles said jumping off to bed.

"I'll need to think of a strategy we could use for the diversion. I don't want something like last time to happen." Brick said lazily getting up.

"I'll help." Boomer said. In fact, he wasn't sure if he could help his brother in any way, but he thought it would be better than training with the two brunettes.

"If you say so…" Buttercup said, starting to walk towards the simulator. Butch followed her.

Brick headed toward the exit of the lab. "Come on, Boomer!" he told his brother. The blonde boy went after his brother.

Bubbles looked at the two boys that were heading to the lab's door. She felt her brain empty and full at the same time. She couldn't really relate one thing to another. She didn't like the feeling.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds trying to get some order into her brain. Her action wasn't a great success, but now there was a little less chaos in her head. She opened her eyes in time to see Boomer's back disappearing behind the door.

She sighed. She had a strange feeling that wasn't unfamiliar at all. She was scared... scared of what they were going to do when HIM would make his move. She wasn't very sure why she was so scared of one of Blossom's plans. Her sister's plans usually worked. "Well... most of them..." the blonde thought remembering the time when the red head refused to fight with some bad guys because they were old people. But that wasn't something serious. That was just Blossom's need to follow the rules. In serious situations she always did what she had to do. The blonde never doubted that.

But she was afraid because she couldn't really understand the situation. She couldn't understand why HIM would wait so long to use the crystal's power. And she couldn't understand how that thing could have a mind of its own. It was an object. Even she knew that objects couldn't think. Then how could that crystal do it? It would have to be alive to do it. And it wasn't... was it?

She rejected the theory. It was impossible. Or at least it was impossible in her point of view. Then, she remembered the way Blossom had told them all those things. That was her confident tone. And Bubbles couldn't remember even one time when she talked that way and was wrong. So it had to be true, even if she couldn't explain it.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the sight of her sister's long red hair crossed her view. The blonde turned her head to look at her. Blossom was slowly walking to the lab's door. She stopped for a few seconds and looked the way of the simulator. The Blue Puff could faintly hear Buttercup's and Butch's voices coming from there.

The red head had an empty look in her eyes. Bubbles had seen her sister like that a few times before. She just stood in one place with a weird look on her face and she didn't even blink. She had asked Blossom once why she was doing that. The Pink Puff had told her that when she was in that stage it meant that she was thinking about something very important.

Bubbles sighed as the pink eyed girl left her position a few minutes later. She wondered what her sister had been thinking of. Probably of what was going to happen. Blossom always liked to predict the outcome of any situation. She wasn't always right, but she was always close enough. Maybe she'd ask her about it. She would really like to know her opinion.

The blonde got up and followed her red headed sister, who had already exited to room. She stopped for a moment and looked in the way of the simulator. Butch and Buttercup weren't at the controls anymore. "They must've gotten in." The girl thought, continuing walking.

In the simulator, the two brunettes had begun the training program, Level 15. They were fighting an army of ninjas. The enemies were fast and strong and the two needed to concentrate a lot to dodge their attacks.

That was O.K. with both of them. If they had to keep their minds on the fight they wouldn't have the time to think about the whole HIM business. Meditating at problems, especially this kind of problems, wasn't one of their best abilities.

Buttercup made sure to choose one of the hard programs to make sure that they'd be totally distracted. But, strangely, it wasn't like her usual training sessions. She had the habit of letting herself get so much into the fight that, at one point, she considered it all real. The harder the program was, the faster it happened.

However, even if that program was the hardest she had ever tried, she couldn't get herself as worked up into it as she usually did. Something was holding her back. And she knew perfectly well what it was: everything that had happened in the last days. And most of all what was going to happen soon enough.

She hated the fact that she didn't know when HIM will get to action. She hated HIM for what he had done to the boys... to Butch. She hated the fact that he was going to do more evil. She hated the fact that she couldn't do anything until he would make his move. She hated having to be patient and wait there without nothing else to do than simulating a fight. She hated almost everything that had happened.

How did Blossom get the idea that she'd be able to think of something nice and good, when she'll get to that demon and the crystal, was beyond her. She was sure that she wouldn't be able to do it and that really scared her. She didn't want to screw it all. Good feelings in battle... it would've been easier to make Miss Keane swear.

She looked up to a ninja that was trying a high attack. She froze in that spot. The ninja had the same exact position that Nosme had before she gave her that one final blow. The image of the red headed demon was persisting in her mind. The red scars on her body appeared very clear in her mind, as did the big gray wings that had the same position that the ninja's arms now had. She was frozen as the attacking form approached her. She couldn't move. She was staring into the ninja's empty eyes and she had the sensation that she was staring into the demon's cold, golden ones.

Butch was fighting three of the computer's creations at the same time. He felt a little weird. Usually, when he was fighting he put more passion in every move. But now, he couldn't concentrate at all. Something was wrong. Not necessarily something that was happening in the outside world, but he was sure that there was something wrong with himself. The proof was right in front of him. He was in the middle of a very difficult fight with three, very powerful, ninjas, he was loosing and he didn't give a shit about it.

At first he thought that it was because something in his head knew that nothing there was real. But the painful kick he received from one of his opponents made him realize that it wasn't as unreal as he first thought.

Then what could be wrong? He wasn't really sure. He tried to close his eyes to think of it. But in the next moment, a very strong punch made him realize the big mistake he had made. He went flying through the air a few feet, but recovered fast. He opened his eyes to see one of the ninjas charging for him. He let a little "Hn" escape his lips as he bent down, ready for the attack. When the ninja was close enough he launched into attack. He punched his opponent so hard that he flew on the opposite side of the battle field.

He smirked. "What's wrong? To weak to deal with the big boys?" he said looking at the ninja that he had just knocked out. Suddenly he felt a great pain in the back. He was sent sailing through the air and landed on the hard ground. He got up growling. His back hurt and he was angry. How dare that digital creature attack him from the back? He turned and saw the ninja that had hit him charging for another attack.

"You won't be able to get me again." He growled clutching his fists. He jumped into the air and before the ninja could do anything he smacked him in the face. The computer's creation flew backwards and smashed into some other of his kind.

The boy relaxed a bit. He turned his head to look at Buttercup. He froze. One of the robots was charging for her and she didn't even move. And it wasn't one of those situations when she waited for him to get close enough so she could attack him first. He could tell that from the look she had in her eyes. It was like she wasn't even aware of the ninja's presence. He blinked realizing that she wouldn't get out of there. With that thought in his mind he took off at top speed.

Buttercup continued to stare at what she thought were the cold, golden eyes of the red headed demon. She didn't even blink. Suddenly she felt someone grabbing her by the waist and the image she was staring at changed instantly. She blinked a few times. She raised her head to see the ninja on the ground, looking like he had fallen there, hard.

She turned her eyes to meet Butch's green orbs. She blinked. She wasn't very sure what had happened.

"Buttercup, what's wrong with you?" Butch asked looking half concerned, half angry.

"Huh?" The girl gave him an unsure look.

"That ninja..." Butch began motioning to the body on the ground "... was going to knock you out and you didn't even notice. You were just staring at it like it wasn't even there."

"I..." Buttercup said, but realized that she didn't really have something to tell him. "I was thinking about something else." She said looking away.

"Thinking about something else..." the boy repeated. "Are you going to 'think about something else' when you'll have to fight HIM and destroy that crystal?" he asked in a serious tone.

She raised her eyes and looked into his for a second. Then she looked away as fast as she could. Butch, however, managed to see a hint of fear in her green eyes.

"Why would she be afraid?" he asked himself. Since he had met her he always got the impression that she was the last person that would be afraid of something. Without realizing what he was doing, he gently pulled the Green Puff's body closer to him.

The girl turned her eyes to him. She had a questioning look on her face.

"Why are you afraid?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to deny the fact that she was scared, but realizes that it was a lie. And she didn't want to lie to him.

"I don't know if I'll be able to destroy that thing." She said looking in his eyes.

"Why not?" he asked a bit confused.

"Remember? I have to have good things in my mind when I attack. But I don't think I'll be able to do this." She said. She closed her eyes and continued: "I mean, I hate HIM and I hate that crystal and I hate everything HIM did with that crystal... everything he did to you." She opened her eyes and looked into his.

"Then don't think of this." The boy said running his hand through her raven hair.

"Hn... you make it sound so easy..." the girl said with a small laugh. "But it's not that easy. I can't ignore what I feel. And I don't have anything else to concentrate on."

Butch watched her shaking her head like she was trying to get rid of the idea. He wanted to help her in some way, but he didn't know how. He would've told her something if he knew what, but he didn't have much to say. He didn't have anything to say that could help her in any way.

Then something came in his mind. Not too long ago, it had made him feel so perfect. And he was sure that it had made her feel good too.

He placed two fingers under her chin and made her look at him. A moment he doubted that he was doing the right thing, but that moment passed as fast as came. "Then think about this" he whispered. He placed his lips on her cheek, very close to her lips.

Buttercup's eyes widened, but she didn't do anything to stop him. When he ended the little kiss she looked at him with curiosity in her eyes. He just smiled at her.

She understood and got up offering him her hand. He took it and they went out of the simulator that had stopped the training sequence some time ago.

The two brunettes went out of the lab and into the living room. They saw Brick and Boomer there. Brick was sitting at the table with a piece of paper in front of him and a pencil in his hand. Buttercup thought that he looked a lot like Blossom in that position.

Boomer was sitting in a chair staring at nothing in particular. He seemed lost in his thoughts. His eyes were positioned on the piece of paper that Brick was using to create his strategy. However, the brunettes could easily tell that he wasn't paying any attention at what the red head was doing.

"Hey guys!" Buttercup greeted the two boys. Brick only raised his right hand and said muttered a quiet "Hey!". Then he returned to his work.

Boomer on the other hand turned to look at the two and greeted them with a smile. "Hi, you two! I thought that you'd train a little more. It's only half an hour since you began."

"Hn, you think that we need that much training?" Butch asked with a smirk, showing his muscles.

Boomer did his best not to burst laughter at Butch's ridiculous face and he only let himself grin. Buttercup, on the other hand, couldn't stop herself from giggling.

"What's wrong?" the brunette boy asked his counterpart.

"You're such an air head." Brick said without looking away from his plans.

"What was that?" the Green Ruff asked a little angry.

"Just an observation." The red head answered getting up and exiting the room.

"What's up with him?" the black haired boy asked.

"No idea." The girl said.

Boomer looked at the door that had just closed behind his red headed brother. In the time they stood there, they didn't talk much. Just a few words actually. And even that happened when Boomer would, accidentally, make some noise. Then Brick would remember that he was in the room and look at him. Almost every time he would just return to his work after giving his brother a questioning look.

But one time, after many of these acts, the red head had raised his head from his work and asked the blonde what was wrong. Not if there was something wrong, but "what" was wrong. That made Boomer loose his concentration for a few seconds and he remained silent. But his brother's look made him decide that it was better if he would talk about it.

He had told Brick that he was worried... about what HIM would do, about them, about the girls, about everything. The red head told him that it was normal. He told him that he was worried too and that was why he was making those plans.

In that moment Boomer asked Brick if he could help him, but what his brother said left him very confused.

Flashback

_Brick looked at his brother with a little smile on his face. Boomer had never seen such a look in the red head's eyes before. There was concern, resignation, confusion and understanding in them at the same time. And there was something more that the blonde boy couldn't name. _

"_Boomer... it would be, actually, useless if you tried to help me with these." He said in an almost too gentle voice for him._

"_And why is that?" the blue eyed boy asked feeling a little insulted. _

"_Because I highly doubt that we'll use these plans." The red head answered the question like it was to most obvious thing in the world. _

"_What?" the blonde asked. He just couldn't believe that his brother was doing something like that. He never did something that even he would consider useless. _

"_Well... we aren't sure what else HIM can do with that crystal so it would be useless to try and prevent it. We just know that we have to distract him as long as we can so the girls will be able to make their move." The Red Ruff explained. _

End of flashback

Distract HIM... how were they going to do that without having an attack plan? He couldn't understand. He thought of this for some time, being vaguely aware of the two brunettes that were talking in the other side of the room.

He raised his head a few minutes later to see Bubbles entering the room. Her hair was still a little wet from the shower she had taken. He smiled at her and she smiled back. She came and sat next to him.

Buttercup looked too at her sister. "Hi, sis! The shower free?"

"Yeah. You can go." The blonde answered.

"'K!" the brunette said getting up. Before she went out the room she turned around and looked at her sister. "Hey, where's Blossom?" she asked.

"In our room." Came the answer. The green eyed girl nodded going up stairs.

In the girls' room, Blossom was staring in mid air. She was trying to think of what her sisters and she could face before they would get to the crystal. She didn't think that HIM would notice the difference between them and the three robots, but she couldn't say the same thing about the crystal. She had spoken very seriously about it having its own mind. And she was sure that mind worked much better than the demon's one.

If it wouldn't have been for the serious situation they were in she could've smiled at her thought. But now there wasn't anything to smile about. She sighed, thinking of the story that Bellatrix had told her some time ago and that had proved to be so important in solving their current problems.

Maybe... if it wouldn't have been for everything that had happened in the last days, she would've asked herself how the silver haired girl found out of all this. But for the moment the fact that she had been able to become aware of all that was more important.

She closed her eyes, repeating the story in her mind for the 10th time. She had been trying to find something in Bella's words that would help her guess what the crystal would be able to do. She hadn't been able to find much and the fact that she had to guess was enough to make her go insane.

Suddenly she heard a noise at the door and she turned around, forgetting her thought. By the door was Brick gazing at her with a weird look on his face. She opened her mouth to say something, but found that she didn't really have something to say. But the boy had.

"Can I come in?" he asked with a serious voice.

She stared at him a few seconds. He had a serious look on his face, but she could see it in his eyes that it was just a mask. He was confused, worried, curious and even a little scared. Even if she was afraid that he'll bring her to the stage where she wouldn't be able to hide anything from him, she nodded. She calmly watched as he walked into the room, maintaining the eye contact.

"We have to talk..." he began.

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I'm too lazy to continue, so I'll stop here. Don't worry, the next chapter won't take so long to update, like this one. I promise. It should be up this week, but I don't have any other details.

I'm very sorry if I misspelled something.

See ya' in the next chapter!


	18. Last encounter

Hey people! I'm here and so is Chapter 18! I hope you'll like it!

Thank you very much Sarrowz, Sara and Dennis Gerbera for reviewing Chapter 17. You rock guys!

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina!

**Disclaimer:** The usual boring one.

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**On the right side**

Chapter 18: Last encounter 

Blossom watched her counterpart with curious eyes, managing to hide the worry and fear that filled her heart. She had a really good idea of what he wanted to talk about and she didn't like it at all. It was not that she didn't like Brick. She actually thought that he was really nice, but she didn't like the idea of loosing Bellatrix's secret just because he was curious. If he was going to ask about what she thought he was going to ask, then she would need a very good story. She hadn't spent a lot of time with Brick, but she could tell that he wasn't dump or inattentive and she wouldn't be able to trick him like she tricked Bubbles and Buttercup.

"About what?" she asked looking in his eyes, hoping that her features wouldn't betray her.

"About all that has been happening." He answered.

"O.K." she said, her look telling him to continue.

"I'll try and resume all that happened, so we'll have a better image." He said and looked at her to see if she agreed. The girl nodded and he continued.

"I'm not sure where it all begins, but I think it goes back a lot before we appeared..." The boy began.

"You don't even know how right you are Brick." Blossom thought.

"... but for us it begins when HIM came in town." He finished his idea.

"I don't agree." The girl said. Brick looked at her without really understanding. "You see, if we establish that the problem appeared when HIM came we exclude who knows how much time. And only because we don't know much of that time it's a mistake to exclude it from the subject."

"I'm not sure that I understand." The boy said looking at his counterpart. The Pink Puff smiled at him.

"I'll tell you something that a good friend of mine told me once: Always ask 'why?' before you ask 'how?'." The girl smiled as she said Bellatrix's words. "Now, with this on our minds, let's get back to our subject. Our direct problems began when HIM came and now we have to solve these problems. So we ask: why did he come here in the first place?"

Brick thought for a second. The answer came to him immediately. "To find someone he calls 'the chosen one'." He said. The girl nodded.

"We should remember this. We don't know practically anything about this 'chosen one', but this is precious information. If HIM left his world, or rather, was sent from his word to find this person, then it must be something important. I'm only talking on the basis of what you told me yesterday morning." She said looking at him.

"I know." He stopped for a second, looking like he was thinking of something. Blossom waited to hear and didn't interrupt him.

"You know, I think that this is some kind of organized operation. I remember that the demon who threatened HIM said something about 'us'. He must've meant his partners, or superiors, or both. The idea is that if these guys are organized one big group we have problems. Nosme, Arsione and that demon who attacked us must be members of this little club and I doubt that they are the strongest ones." The boy said looking very serious.

Blossom looked at him for some time. She had never thought of something like this for the simple reason that it sounded to her like some kind of conspiracy theory and she usually didn't believe in those things. But now, hearing it from Brick it made a lot of sense. HIM called those demons that attacked them and she highly doubted that they were under HIM's command. So the others must've sent them, or HIM called for help. But that was a little absurd, because, from what Brick told her, the only support that the "others" gave HIM was that crystal.

"I'm not sure that those three demons were 'members' of this organization." The girl said, more to herself than to her counterpart.

"What do you mean?" he asked a little confused.

"Remember what that dark figure told HIM? That this was his last chance? And he gave him that crystal to help him. But that was all HIM got: the crystal. I don't have the smallest doubt that those demons were called by HIM to help him. But if they actually are in that organization it would be a little illogical to help him." She explained.

"Wait a second. Are you saying that he created those demons? With the crystal?" the boy asked, scared of the idea.

"Look, I know how it sounds, and I have to say that it really scares me, but yeah, this is what I'm saying. I think that the crystal is capable of creating these creatures, whatever they are. But I'm sure that they aren't members of this organization." The girl said. Brick looked at her visibly scared of this new realization. Blossom saw this. She got up and walked to where he was sitting. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It won't be easy, for neither of us. But no one said that it would be." She said in what was just above a whisper, but the boy heard her clearly.

"Are you and your sisters always facing this kind of things?" he asked looking in her eyes. The sound of that question made a sad smile appear on her lips.

"No. Not all the time." She answered. "In fact, this is the most difficult situation we've ever been in." She sighed.

"Do you think that it all happened because we're here?" he asked, referring at his brothers and him. Blossom couldn't help but smile at the naive question. She had never expected Brick to ask something like this.

"Of course not." She said sitting next to him. "To be honest, I think that this whole thing would've been a lot harder if you weren't here..." she stopped for a moment, but then decided to end what she was going to say. "... with us." She finished.

The boy looked in her eyes with a serious, yet, curious expression. One question was ringing in his head and he wasn't sure if he should ask. What was she going to think then? He had to admit that he was rather scared of the answer. But with every second that passed he felt like he wouldn't be able to hold it inside him any longer. So he decided.

"Then why don't you trust us?" he asked without being able to hide the hint of fear that appeared in his eyes.

The girl studied the red eyes of her counterpart for quite a long time. As seconds passed, the fear and worry in the boy's eyes grew and became more visible. When her pink eyes found the shade of hope that the boy's crimson orbs held she decided what her answer would be. She closed her eyes for a minute and smiled. She wasn't going to lie; she just wasn't going to tell all the truth.

"You know..." she began, looking a little amused. "... you're the last person I imagined asking this question." She said looking at him. The boy stared at her with big confused eyes. He really wasn't expecting this kind of answer.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"You probably noticed that sometimes I hesitate when I'm explaining something, like I'm trying not to give something away. Isn't that right?" she said. Brick stared at her. Her guess was almost exact. He nodded showing her that she was right. "In this case I think you want to know what I'm keeping for myself." She said. Seeing him nod, she continued: "I have my own theories about this whole story, but I'm not really sure if they're correct. So I wait to see what happens next and decide if I was right or not."

The boy nodded. It made sense, a lot of sense. But still, he wanted to know more. "What did you think of?" he asked. Blossom opened her mouth to protest, but he stopped her. "No, I'm not like the others and I'm perfectly aware of the fact that what we'll discuss here is based only on observations and suppositions. But, maybe, if we talk about this, we could find more." He said, his eyes sparkling.

Blossom looked at him in a weird way. She wasn't sure what to do. He had logic arguments for it. And she didn't have the slightest idea of how to refuse him without making him suspect something. This time she had been lucky, but she couldn't be sure that she'd have the same kind of luck next time.

"O.K., let's do it." She said, deciding to let him know of the suppositions she had, that weren't based on what she knew about the past of the crystal. "But I don't think that we should tell the others about this. At least not 'till we're sure that we're right." She continued in a serious tone. The boy nodded.

And talking about the others...

In the living room, the blondes had tried to do the same thing that the reds were doing, but unlike them, the blue eyed kids were failing miserably.

At first Butch tried to help them, but as they tried to get as much sense in their conversation, as possible, the brunette boy got exhausted by the amount of logic that the blondes were trying to use. He fell asleep in the armchair and didn't react at any of the other children's attempts to wake him.

After 10 minutes in which they tried everything that came to their minds, the two gave up, finally realizing that it was a lost case. As Boomer said, Butch was a master at not waking up.

"How's that attack Blossom was talking about?" the boy asked looking at his counterpart.

"Well... I can't really explain it to you with all the technical details, because I'm not very good at these things, but I'll try. We hold each other by our hands and we spin, generating a big amount of energy and a very powerful attack." Bubbles said.

"That doesn't sound so hard to do." The Blue Ruff said looking at her.

"It doesn't, huh? That's what I said the first time Blossom told us about it, but you'll see that it's really hard to control everything. You know... stay focused, remain on direction and stuff like that. Believe me, it leaves you feeling really dizzy." She let out a little laugh.

"I believe you." The boy said smiling. "When did you first use it?" he asked, remembering that it was said something about the Mayor raking the town.

"In a way, it's a really funny story. You see, sometimes, the Professor gets the idea that this superhero stuff is too dangerous for us so he tries do something about it. Once he made us wear helmets and a lot of other protecting equipment, when we went to fight crime." She said with a little simile on her face.

"He made you wear what?" Boomer asked amused.

"Yeah, now it sounds hilarious, but back then it was really annoying. Well... a little time after we first met you guys, the Professor got, again, one of his protective crisis and he built us a giant robot, that he named Dynamo, so we would be able fight crime without getting hurt. We managed to convince him that we don't need it in order to do our job and he understood. But he didn't destroy it. So one day the Mayor got( God knows how) inside it and accidentally turned it on. He managed to destroy a big part of the town before we stopped him. And we only managed to do it with the attack that we'll use on the crystal." Bubbles said frowning a little when she mentioned the crystal.

Boomer thought that it would be better if he didn't bring up the subject again. And he liked to listen to Bubbles talking about her and her sisters' adventures.

"Does the Professor usually get like that?" he asked her, trying to get her mind off their problems as much as possible. She looked up at him and smiled.

"No, not often. But he usually has a lot of great ideas." She answered.

"What kind of ideas?" the boy asked.

"All kinds." She answered. "His inventions are awesome!" she said thinking of all the inventions the Professor made.

"Really?"

"Yeah! Once he made the perfect animal for us. He was sweet and cute and smart, but... uh... he had a little problem."

"And what was that?"

"He ate a little too much."

"He... ate... too much?" the boy asked a little confused.

"Well... yeah. The Professor made him so he'd eat only once in his life and... Blossom, Buttercup and I kinda' forgot about this." She said, blushing a little.

"And what happened?" he asked, really curious now.

"Um... he ate... a lot. And he grew a lot and he became very big and he continued eating 'till he exploded." She answered.

"Oh. And... what did he eat?"

"Anything, from normal food to furniture, buildings and... people. When he exploded everything he had eaten just got out." She responded. The boy looked at her with big eyes.

"Do you and your sisters often get in this kind of things?" he asked amazed that something like that could happen to the town's super heroes.

"Let's just say that we have a lot of experience." She said looking at him with a smile on her face.

"Like what?" he asked wanting to hear more.

"Like once we got a cat. We eventually found out that it was evil. He hypnotized the Professor and made him his slave and they built a big machine to make cats the rulers of the world." She said faster than necessary. He stared at her.

"Are you serious?" he asked. She nodded. "Did you have any other adventures?"

"A lot of them." Bubbles said.

"Well... tell me." The boy said. The Blue Puff smiled and opened her mouth to say another story, but got interrupted by her brunette sister walking into the room.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" she said smiling.

"Nothing special. Just telling stories." Bubbles answered. Buttercup noticed Butch sleeping in the armchair and smirked.

"I see..." she said.

"Oh, he's been asleep before we started." Boomer said.

"You bored him from the first words?" She asked looking at the two.

"No. He got tired of too much thinking." Boomer said with a smirk.

"It's impossible to wake him. We tried." Bubbles said looking at the brunette boy's sleeping body.

"Oh, really?" Buttercup said her smirk growing. "Have you tried this?" she said getting a pillow that was on the couch. She walked to the armchair where Butch was and turned her head towards the blondes. "Watch and learn." She said and turned her attention to her counterpart.

She stood silent a few moments. Then, suddenly, she jumped into the air and put the pillow in Butch's face yelling: "Hi-ya!"

In almost the same second Butch woke up. He screamed and struggled to escape from under the pillow. After a few seconds, the Green Ruff managed to get away, but he fell on the floor.

When he got up he saw Buttercup, Bubbles and Boomer laughing their heads off. "O.K.! What's the bright idea?" he almost screamed. The others continued to laugh.

"If you could see your face right now!" Boomer said between laughs.

"Why you little-" Butch mumbled, grabbing the pillow that Buttercup had used to wake him. "Here!" he shouted throwing the pillow towards his brother. But the boy dodged the "missile" that hit Bubbles.

"Hey!" she screamed taking the "missile" and throwing it back to Butch. But because she was still laughing she didn't really see where she threw and the pillow hit Buttercup. The brunette, who couldn't even breathe because she was laughing so hard, didn't expect that hit, so she lost her balance and she fell on her counterpart who had forgotten to get off the floor.

Upstairs the red headed super powered kids were still discussing the current problems. However, the little pillow fight that the others were having downstairs wasn't really silent and to the red heads it sounded like a real battle.

"What's happening down there?" Brick asked looking at the floor.

"I don't know, but it sounds like a war." The girl answered.

"We should go check it out." Brick said. The Pink Puff nodded and walked with her counterpart downstairs. The reached the living room.

"O.K. what's ha-" but Blossom didn't have the chance to finish her sentence, because a pillow hit her directly in the face. She removed it and looked at the brunettes and the blondes that were fighting and laughing, only half aware that Brick and she were there. Then she looked at her counterpart with a questioning look on her face.

"Why not?" he answered her unspoken question. She smiled and they got into the fight too.

In the crystal forest, Bellatrix was watching this in the little river. She had a little amused smile on her face.

"You know, they should be getting ready. The battle that awaits them won't be easy." The silver haired girl heard a voice behind her. She turned around to be met by the sight of a watery figure sitting on a big crystal.

"My dear friend, they are as ready as they can be, at the moment." She answered the figure's comment.

"If they would train they could be even better." The woman insisted.

"They don't know what awaits them. Training will be useless, because they don't know for what to train for." Bellatrix said. A moment of silence followed this comment.

"Do you have it?" the purple eyed girl asked looking at the woman.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't." She said taking out the object that the silver head gave her some time ago. "It is ready. But are you sure it will be necessary?" the figure asked.

"Now we will need it more than ever." Came the answer. Another silence followed Bellartix's words as she turned to watch the little river.

"Why don't you tell her?" the woman asked.

"Because it would do more bad than good." The girl answered without moving her gaze from the children's fight.

"You could at least warn her about what could happen." The figure insisted.

"No. I think that she already knows." Bellatrix whispered. "And I just can't take her from this, only to give her such information." She continued with a smile.

"And why not?" the woman asked with her gaze fixed on the girl's back.

"Because this may be their last encounter in a very long time." Bellatix answered, turning around and meeting her friend's gaze.

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That was it! Chapter 18. Kinda' lame, huh? Ops! My fault.

Anyway, I don't know when Chapter 19 will be up. We'll just have to wait and see.

Sorry if I misspelled anything.

See ya' in the next chapter!


	19. This is it

Hi everyone! Sorry for the lateness! I've been having problems with my muse and she's still refusing to work. Lazy lazy thing….

Thank you very much Sarrowz, Sara, Dennis Gerbera, WolfKeeper989, CamillaMB and secret girl for reviewing Chapter 18! You are the best guys!

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina. I love you!

**Disclaimer:** This thing really starts to get on my nerves. I mean, do you think that if I actually owned this thing I'd be writing here? No! It would all be on TV!

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 19: This is it

The pillow fight continued for more than half an hour. The six kids were laughing as they kept throwing pillows at each other with the innocent happiness that only children can possess. Each pillow that was received by one of them was followed by a little yelp and more laughs.

Bellatrix had been right not to disturb them with information or with training. They knew all they needed to know and even more. And as for training: they were doing it right now. Because the battle that they were going to fight in was no ordinary one, so ordinary methods were not going to work. This was the only training they needed.

Almost an hour ago the two brunettes had been scared of the battle that was coming fast. Buttercup had been afraid that she wouldn't be able to control her feelings, that she would make a mistake and ruin their only chance of winning. Butch was afraid that he would have to meet Nosme again. He would never admit it, but she had managed to scare the Hell out of him and the image of her chasing him after she had knocked out his counterpart still haunted him.

But all the fear had vanished as the pillows that were flying around hit them and they threw them back, hitting the others. Fear was replaced by happiness and they almost forgot what was closer with each minute that passed.

A few minutes ago the blondes had been so curious. They had tried to know more without getting anywhere. The fight they had been through just a day ago had hurt both of them, physically and psychically. Boomer still remembered how Bubbles had been hurt by Arsione and still couldn't get the anger out of his mind and heart. Bubbles could still feel the terror that conquered her when she had seen Boomer's unconscious body on the ground, after Arsione's blast had hit him instead of her.

But now all the anger and terror disappeared between the pillows that were flying through the living room. With every hit they gave or received a part of the thoughts that were filling their minds transformed into pure, innocent happiness and the knowledge of the battle that was coming easily left their brains.

Just minutes ago, the red heads were getting more and more worried. Their conversation had revealed a lot of different things that made them doubt they would manage to win. In their eyes the power of HIM's crystal HIM grew bigger and bigger with everything they managed to find. To Brick, the power of the crystal was very big, to Blossom it was huge. She knew what had happened thousands of years ago when Fubuki used the mirror. He didn't. And she made sure not to let him suspect. She knew that Fubuki had done it so she knew that she was going to do it too. But she didn't know what happened after that so she didn't know what would happen after this battle either. And that made her worry. He trusted her and knew that she and her sisters were going to do what they had to. But he didn't know what he was going to do. Distract HIM... easier said then done. He didn't know what the demon was going to throw at them so he didn't know how he was going to fight it. And that made him worry.

But worry went away as the pillow fight went on. As pillows flew through the air their thoughts and worries flew away, further and further with every moment that passed. And as this continued their thoughts of the battle that was approaching were pushed at the back of their minds like memories of forgotten dreams.

After more than half an hour, the six children fell on the floor exhausted, not from the fight, but from all the laughing. Buttercup had tripped again, knocked by one of Blossom's hits and, again, she fell on Butch and now she was still giggling in his lap. The brunette boy, knocked down by his counterpart, was laughing hard, involuntary warping an arm around the girl's waist.

Boomer was lying on the floor, still laughing, though not as hard as Butch. He was on his back, with one hand on his stomach. The other was on Bubbles' back. She was half laughing, half giggling. She had her head on the boy's chest and her eyes closed.

The reds were back to back, leaning on each other, but not facing each other. They were between the two pairs. Blossom had the brunettes in her view and Brick was facing the blondes. They had recovered from the laughing fit the fastest and now they just had wide smiles on their faces. And these smiles grew even wider as the two watched their siblings and most of all the positions that they were in. It almost made them throw another laughing fit.

This lasted for 5 more minutes. And as time passed the two red heads noticed that their siblings were too lost in their own little world to notice that they weren't alone. Turning their heads to look at each other they decided, without even talking, what they were going to do. They left the two "couples" in their worlds a few more minutes, just to be sure that they would have an advantage in future "battles" and then decided to wake them up.

"I don't know about you guys, but this little fight was real magic for me." Brick commented, stretching his arms and doing a very bad job in pretending that he hadn't noticed them. The others looked at him like he was crazy. They hadn't noticed the cause of Brick's tone yet.

"Oh, but I think that it's been more magical to these little love birds than to the two of us." Blossom said with a little playful smirk on her face, looking at the four.

Each couple looked at each other and then to the others in the room. When they realized the situation they were in, they blushed bright red. They all looked at the two red heads that had already gotten up and were smirking down at them. The look on the reds' faces made them blush even harder, until their faces had the same color as Brick's cap and Blossom's bow.

Both the brunettes and the blondes broke apart so fast the other two didn't even have time to blink. In less than a second they were all on their feet, thought they didn't look like they could stay like that for too long. The blush on their cheeks hadn't left yet and their faces looked like they had been painted in red by some little kid.

For a few minutes no one said anything. The reds were too busy doing their best not to burst into laughter at the sight of their siblings' faces which were constantly changing color. The blues and greens were trying to find something to say, but the red head's expressions weren't really helping them.

"What are you staring at?" Butch asked trying to sound mad, but failing miserably.

"You" the two leaders answered still smiling.

"You know... this is called psychological abuse and it's considered illegal." Bubbles said trying to get out of that really embarrassing situation.

"Oh, I know, but you remember what Buttercup always said: rules are made to be broken and I don't think that she'd really appreciate me ignoring her advice." Blossom said pulling her puppy dog eyes, but still keeping her little smirk on her face.

"You can ignore me this time." Buttercup said, feeling herself blush harder under her counterpart's and the blondes' looks and the reds' little smiles.

"Oh, but if I ignore you now, what will stop me from ignoring you some other time as well?" the Pink Puff asked smiling at her sister who looked like she'd like a thunder to hit her on the spot.

Another awkward silence filled the room. It was just like the other one: the reds' were smirking at their siblings and they looked like they wanted to disappear from the face of the Earth.

"O.K., you caught us. What are you going to do now?" Boomer asked, looking at the red heads that were practically glowing with satisfaction.

"Oh, but who said that we wanted to do anything?" Brick said smirking at them.

"Yeah, what made you think something like that?" Blossom asked in a sweet voice.

"The torture... for example?" Butch said rolling his eyes.

"Torture? Was that torture?" Blossom asked turning to Brick as if looking for an answer.

"Well... from one point of view it may have been." He said with an expression of deep thought.

"Really? I didn't realize that..." The girl said simulating surprise.

"Yes! And what you're doing now is called torture too." Buttercup said, beginning to get pissed off at the reds' play.

"Yeah, I think it is." The red haired girl said with a little smile.

"So, are you going to be satisfied just with the torture or you're going to go further?" Butch asked, doing his best to sound calm, but failing.

"Hmm..." Blossom looked like she had to make a difficult decision. "What do you think?" she asked turning at her counterpart. The boy looked at her for a few moments then he studied the other's figures. He smiled.

"Well... for now, I think it was enough..." he said. As he expected, he saw the brunettes and the blondes sigh in relief. He smirked and so did his counterpart.

"But don't you think we'll let you forget about this one." The red headed girl smiled at them. The others gulped wondering why they had hoped for those few seconds.

The reds' looked at each other and smiled. "We win!" they whispered, looking in each other's eyes.

As they had promised, the leaders didn't mention what happened any more and even pretended that it didn't even happen. The others were very happy to realize this change in their siblings. This continued for a few more hours. But it had to end...

BBBEEEEEEPPPP BBEEEEEEPPP BEEEEPP

The hot line rang. Out of her reflex, Blossom rushed to answer.

"Yes mayor!" she spoke. "OK... I understand... we'll be there!" she hung up. Then she walked to the others.

"This is it." She said. "HIM made his move. Now we have to make ours." The others nodded.

"And I'm ready for it." The Professor said bringing the three robots that he had programmed. The six children smiled at him and thanked him.

"Good luck, kids!" the man said leaving the room. They smiled at him then turned to each other.

Butch walked to Buttercup. She looked at him. Neither of them was sure that they wanted to do all this, but they knew that it was the only way. The boy took her hand.

"Hey! Be careful out there, OK?" he said looking in her eyes.

"I will, if you'll do it too." The girl said almost demanding an answer.

"Hey, don't worry about me! I was lucky enough to get away from Nosme. I can handle anything else HIM has to throw at us." He said with a smile on his face. Buttercup still looked at him a little worried. "And don't forget..." he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I won't." she smiled at him.

The blondes walked a little further from their siblings. Boomer had his hand on the girl's back.

"Take care of yourself." Bubbles said in what was just above a whisper.

"Yeah, I will. You be careful too." The boy said locking their gazes.

"I went through this kind of things hundreds of times before. And I'll have my sisters with me too. You don't have to worry." The girl answered, smiling at him. He returned the smile.

"But still... take care of yourself. I don't want to loose you." He said bringing her into a hug.

"I will." She said hugging him back.

The reds were watching these little scenes with shocked expressions on their faces. They didn't expect this to repeat so soon. Not with the little "game" that they had played just a little time ago.

"Do they really think we don't see all this?" Blossom asked looking at the two couples.

"Oh... you know what they say: 'love's blind'." The boy answered.

"I didn't think it had such a literal sense." The girl commented.

"Well... at least we'll have something to do after all this is over." He said referring to the battle that had arrived.

The Pink Puff closed her eyes and sighed. The battle... the hardest one yet. And now that it all started she knew that there were much harder ones to come. She was sure that they wouldn't let themselves waited too long. And she didn't know if she would be able to handle them all. She didn't have much to help her: just the knowledge of what happened millions of centuries ago.

But no! She had her sisters and, now, the boys too. They were all in this and they didn't even know what they had been dragged into. It wasn't fair for them. She, at least, knew what was happening, or at least part of it.

Involuntary she brought her right hand to her chest and touched the place where her heart was. She had made up her mind. After it would be over she was going to tell them everything she knew, about the mirror, about Fubuki, about the great battle and about Bellatrix. It was only fair.

"Blossom... ?" her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of her counterpart.

"Yes?" she said turning her eyes to him. He looked a little worried.

"Is there anything wrong? You kinda' spaced out for a few moments." He said.

"I'm fine. I was just thinking..." she answered.

"About what?" he said still looking at her.

"About many things..." she answered without even thinking.

"Like..." he said waiting for her to complete the sentence. She didn't answer for a few seconds.

"Brick, could you promise me something?" she said, looking in his eyes and sounding really serious.

"Sure, anything." He answered, wondering what it could be about.

"Promise me that you'll never give up. It doesn't matter what will happen in this battle, just don't give up." She said not breaking their gaze.

"I don't think I understand." He said very confused. Why was she telling him that?

"You will. But until then, you should get going." She said looking at the blondes and brunettes that still didn't notice that they weren't alone. The boy nodded, still confused, but realizing that there were more important things to do at the moment.

"Come on guys! HIM's not going to wait for us!" he said a little louder than necessary. The two couples startled, turning to look at the two red heads that were looking back at them. They blushed and let go of each other.

"OK! We're ready!" Butch said.

"Let's go!" Boomer said.

Brick nodded and turned to walk away.

"Hey, guys!" he heard a voice. He turned around. "Good luck!" Blossom said giving him a smile. He returned it.

"You too!" he said taking off. His brothers did the same and the three robots followed them.

The girls remained there. They had to get to action a little later, when HIM's attention would be fully directed to the boys. They sighed. They would have to wait a little longer… And who knows what could happen in that "a little longer".

The battle had begun. But their part would come later. Now it was someone else's turn.

* * *

I don't even dare to ask how it was. Working without my muse leads to very bad results.

Battle scenes in the next chapter… I wish I could work without them, but I can't. The next chapter will come a little late.

Anyway, see ya' in Chapter 20!


	20. Battle in town

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Hi everyone! Long time no see. God, this one took long! Sorry!

Thank you very much Chibeh and Dennis Gerbera for your reviews! You're the best guys!

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina.

**Disclaimer: **The usual one.

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 20: Battle in town

The boys flew in town with the three androids just a few feet behind them. They still had a little more to go and they couldn't see the town very well. However, on the sky, they could see a great amount of smoke and dust rising from the place where they were heading to.

If you only looked at the sky, above the city, you could've sworn that it was about to rain, because what was floating above the buildings looked awfully similar with the dark clouds that usually covered the sky before a storm.

But if you moved your eyes to what was below your impression would drastically change. As they got closer they could see that, for some strange reason, all they buildings were gray and there wasn't even one shade of another color in sight. The smoke and dust were rising. All this made the place look like one of those industrial areas that some people talk about as if they're Hell on Earth.

As he watched all this, the blonde boy became more agitated than he already was. What was happening in that place to make everything look so... so sinister? He had spent enough time with HIM to know that he liked making things look as horrible as possible anywhere he stepped foot, but he never imagined that he would be able to do something this big in such a short time. It was even worse then what happened when Arsione had been there. He shivered when he thought of the demon. Her image still scared him. He looked ahead at the awful sight of what was now Townsville. Whatever was there, it was really strong.

"Guys..." he began, stopping for a moment to think. His brothers looked at him. He decided to continue: "You do realize that we're heading towards something incredibly strong, without a plan, don't you? " he said waiting for a comeback from one of his brothers, that didn't wait to come.

"And what do you think we could plan about this whole shit?" Butch said in an angry tone. It wasn't like he was mad at his blonde brother for saying that, but he was kind of agitated too and he needed someone to use as a "punching bag" to get his nerves out. So in this case he was almost relieved that Boomer had opened his mouth, so he wouldn't have to keep it all inside. "We don't fucking know anything about what the bloody Hell HIM's doing! What would you like to plan? How surprised we'll be when we'll find out?" the brunette said. In a way, he was feeling good because now he had his mind on yelling at Boomer and not on the bad things that could happen once they reached their destination.

The two boys started a small argument that made them both feel a little better, because it made them forget about what was yet to happen in the city. In less than three minutes they were far away from the subject.

Brick was aware of the fact that they were fighting, but he didn't do anything to stop them. He knew his brothers and he knew that this kind of things actually helped them in such moments. He thought of what Boomer had said. "A plan..." the words echoed in his head. It sounded so weird. Before, he and his brothers would rarely work with a plan that had been made before the fight. Usually they would just get into the fight and rely on their strength or make up something during the battle if it was necessary.

If they did use a plan than it would always belong to someone else. Most of the time it they were HIM's plans. They had used one of Mojo's plans once. Thinking of this made Brick feel really bad. He was realizing how stupid he had been in all that time. HIM was the one thinking for them. It was humiliating.

They had spent so much time like that... he wasn't sure if he would be able to work in another way. He closed his eyes and the Pink Puff's image appeared in his mind. He was sure that she would've found something. But then again, if she had thought of something she would have told him when they were still at her house. She didn't know either. So what was he going to do?

He wasn't sure, but he needed to come up with something. He felt like it would be very imprudent to go in town without being at least a little organized. His eyes snapped open, remembering the fights they had had with the Power Puff Girls. They didn't always have a plan, but they were always as organized as possible. That was what he was going to do too.

He looked back at the three androids that were quietly flying behind them, like they didn't even hear the "little" argument that Boomer and Butch were having. He remembered that Blossom had told him what the robots could do and what could beat them. In a normal battle they would be very convincing as they could imitate the girls in almost every move, but, as the red headed girl had told him, there could be problems if things got too tough. The robots were programmed with very few battle styles and couldn't change them at will, so the boys would have to keep an eye on them.

"Oh yeah! What about..." Butch began his comeback to one of Boomer's comments, but his red haired brother interrupted him.

"Enough guys!" Brick said in a more irritated tone that he intended to.

"What's up dude?" Boomer asked looking at his brother.

"What you said... we can't go there without a plan." The boy answered.

"If you have a plan leader dude then spit it out already!" Butch said almost exasperated that the red head had kept it for so long.

"It's not really a plan! It's more like organizing." Came the response.

"What's the difference?" the blonde asked a little confused.

"Shut up Boomer!" the brunette snapped.

"Let's not start again." Brick said before the two could begin arguing. The boys stopped and looked at their leader. It took the red head a few seconds to realize that they were waiting to hear his idea. "OK, we don't know what's there so we can't make a very good plan until we see what we're dealing with, so we'll have to stay close to each other. This way, if we have any ideas it will be easier to share them." He made a little pause and looked at his brothers who, obviously, were waiting for more. "The main plan is that we'll be the ones attacking and you..." he said turning to the three robots "... will be covering our backs." He finished, feeling a little stupid that he couldn't come up with something better.

"Affirmative." The three androids said in something that was quite similar to the girl's voices, but there was something so unnatural in them that it made the boys shiver. It was the first time they had heard the robots talk, but they already wished they would never have to do it again.

Finally, they arrived at their destination. The town looked even more damaged than it did when they had last been there. Almost everything looked like it had been incinerated and some things seemed like they had just been melted.

And this time was different from the last one for another reason: the streets weren't empty, like last time. On the ground, there were bodies, lots of them. The boys couldn't really see them so they got closer to one of them. Brick held his hand out and turned it around so it would face them. The sight made all three Ruffs take a few steps back.

It was a man. He was tall, had black hair and he looked like he had been in his early thirties. And the words "had been" really matched the situation. The man was dead. His chest had been practically ripped apart. Pieces of flesh had been torn from his body and some pieces of what looked like a lung were lying right next to the man, soaked in the red liquid that was still a little warm. He hadn't been dead for too long.

It took the three boys a few minutes to be able to think straight again. The image of the dead man had really scared them. Boomer moved his eyes from the man's torso and looked at his face. His mouth was open and the boy could tell that blood had rushed out of it. His face had a look of extreme terror on it and managed to pass some of the man's fright to the Ruffs.

"What did this?" the brunette was first to speak. The Red Ruff opened and closed his mouth a few times before answering.

"I don't know bro... but whatever it was, we'll have to face it." All three of them shivered at the thought. An uncomfortable silence followed Brick's words. That scene wasn't unique in the area that they had landed. There were other dead bodies there, some even more mutilated than the one of the man. The Ruffs noticed there were only three bodies that had been ripped apart, including the one they had first seen. The rest looked like they had been burned. In fact, the whole place smelled like burned human flesh.

"Scanners indicate a life form in the building in front of us." The silence was broken by what seemed to be Bubbles' voice. The boys turned to the androids. It seemed that all three of them were scanning the area for survivors. The empty voice which had spoken made the boys shiver.

"Let's go check it out!" Brick said after a few moments of silence. They all headed towards the building. They entered the structure praying that it wouldn't collapse on them and the possible survivor. They walked around for a while searching for what could be a human. They were about to give up when Boomer saw something behind a piece of ceiling that had collapsed.

"Hey! Over here!" he shouted. His brothers and the three androids rushed to the place. Under what was left of the ceiling a small hand could be seen. From its size, the boys could tell it belonged to a child. They all gulped, trying hard to keep their cool, while the image of the dead man persisted in their minds.

Butch carefully picked up the piece that was covering the body. In the second that the brunette had begun lifting the heavy object the smell of blood and burned flesh became even stronger. Boomer coughed a few times, but Brick didn't move. He was staring at the scene with huge eyes. His mouth was slightly opened as he tried to form words but nothing came out.

So he continued to stare with wide, terrified eyes as his dark haired brother lifted what was left of the ceiling. A few times he tried to scream at the Green Ruff to stop, but his mouth didn't listen to him. Finally Butch noticed the look on the red head's face. Because of the way he was holding the piece of ceiling he couldn't see what his brother was seeing, so, with a rather violent move, he got it out of his way. In the moment he laid his eyes on what had been beneath, he regretted his gesture.

There was a body there, all right, or at least what was left of a body. It was a boy about their age with brown hair. He was lying with his back at the other boys, if what was facing them could still be called his back. When Butch had lifted the heavy object, the boy's skin had been ripped from his body along with the thing that had almost crushed him. Pieces of his flesh were still on the object that the brunette had removed. His internal organs were exposed as were his bones and skull.

Meanwhile Boomer stopped coughing and opened his eyes to be met by the sight of the mutilated body of the young boy. He took more steps backwards until his back hit the wall. He looked at the image with such wide eyes that one may have thought they were about to pop out of his head.

They boys couldn't even move their eyes from the body, not to mention move their own bodies or at least think. In front of the sight, the three androids remained cold. Obviously, emotions weren't programmed in their systems. The robot that looked like Blossom scanned the body.

"It seems that the skin was somehow melted before the ceiling fell on the body. This happened quite recently and it would explain what just happen." It spoke with such a cold voice that Brick felt his heart skip a beat.

"The male is dead, but there is someone alive under him." The android that looked like Buttercup said looking at the body like it was something normal.

At the sound of those words Brick rushed to the body. He stopped for a few seconds in front of the boy staring at it. He took a deep breath and slowly removed the corpse. This revealed the thin body of a younger girl. Her left leg had been severally burned and pieces of a broken window had cut her shoulder making it bleed. She was unconscious.

Brick and Boomer were too busy with the girl's body to notice their brother. When the brunette boy had seen the two children's faces he had almost lost his balance. The girl had brown hair like the boy and their faces were very alike, even though, because of what had happened to his skin, the boy's features weren't very clear. Still, Butch could recognize him: it was Jeff, the boy Buttercup had introduced him to before Nosme came. And the little girl was his sister, Kisha.

Just then the girl's eyes slowly opened. She was very surprised to see Brick and Boomer by her side. She looked around and saw Butch. She seemed to calm down a little. She tried to get up, but pain stopped her and she fell back.

"Don't try to move." Brick told her in a gentle tone. She looked at him. She opened and closed her mouth several times trying to speak, but her voice wasn't listening to her. After a few moments she managed to talk.

"Where's Jeff?" was the first thing that she said. Boomer and Brick looked at each other not knowing whom she was talking about. But she wasn't looking at either of them. Her eyes were fixed on the Green Ruff.

At the sound of the name Butch couldn't stop his eyes from looking in the direction of the dead body. He returned his gaze at the girl as fast as he could, praying that she hadn't seen him. Unfortunately she had noticed and turned her head in that direction.

Her eyes widened when they were met by the sight of the brother's mutilated body. From the place she was sitting she could clearly see every one of his wounds. Boomer was too late to realize what was happening but he wasn't able to block her view. Her mouth opened to scream, but all that her chest managed to release was a silent gasp. In the next moment her head fell backwards, with her mouth still opened and her sky blue eyes staring into space.

"What happened?" Brick almost shouted as he was shaking the girl, trying to make her wake up. It didn't work. Her body remained limp.

"She suffered a heart attack." Came the emotionless response from the robot that looked like Blossom.

Somewhere, at the back of his head he knew that the android was just answering his question, but the red head was too furious to be able to think straight. He got to his feet, feeling his body tremble with anger. He was about to hit the metal replica of his counterpart when an equal emotionless voice spoke.

"Something is coming." The blonde android said looking at the entrance of the building. Brick forgot about his rage and looked towards the place, like the others had already done.

A weird creature walked calmly into the building. It was only a little taller than the boys and it had a thin body. It looked like a younger version of HIM. It was wearing the same clothes as HIM and it had red skin, black hair and crab claws instead of hands. It had large, yellow eyes. Its mouth was too big for its face and it was somehow curved in an unmoving evil smile that showed its sharp fangs, just like the smiles that those scary dolls in musical boxes have. The creature was looking at them with a pleased and joyful expression, thought they weren't sure if it was because that was how it was feeling or because its face couldn't show anything else. However they had the uncomfortable sensation that it had been waiting for them. They stared at the creature for a few moments. None of them was sure what to do.

"You did this?" Butch broke the silence feeling anger rising in him. The creature looked at him for a few seconds, like it was studying him. Then, slowly but surely, it moved its head up and down answering to the boy's question. In this time its features hadn't moved a bit.

"Why you little..." the brunette began as he crouched ready to take off for the creature.

"No! Not here! The building could collapse!" Brick said to his brother. The Green Ruff nodded lifting himself in the air.

"What about them?" Boomer asked pointing at the two bodies. Brick opened his mouth to answer, but the red headed android cut him off.

"They are dead. It will not do any good to either us or them if we take them with us." The empty voice said. The red headed boy looked at the robot. "I am so going to destroy this thing when this whole shit is over." He thought angrily as he nodded to his brothers and the androids to get out of the building.

They flew through a big hole in the ceiling. The entrance they had used to get in was blocked by the creature and they weren't quite sure they wanted it to try its powers on them. When they got out they were shocked to see that the creature wasn't alone. On the street there were a lot of those things just walking around the dead bodies. The creature that they had first seen came out of the building as calmly as it entered and looked up at them. Almost in the same moment all the other creatures looked at them. Their faces held the same wide, sinister smile.

They stared at each other for some time. Suddenly, without any warning, the creatures charged at the boys and the androids with such speed and strength that the Ruffs didn't even have the time to blink. They were all thrown backwards several feet.

"What happened?" Boomer asked while getting to his feet.

"We were hit." The blonde android answered.

"Gee, thanks for the information. We wouldn't have realized it without you." Butch said. The robots didn't answer. Obviously, sense of humor was another thing they lacked.

"OK guys, we gotta' get to action! HIM won't concentrate on us if we're just thrown around by these things and it will be a lot harder for the girls to get to him and the crystal if he notices them." Brick said in a more confident tone that he really felt.

"'K! Let's go!" the other two boys said. The robots nodded.

But it wasn't necessary to go anywhere anymore. The little creatures didn't act like the three demons they had faced a day before. They were all slowly walking towards them with their evil smiles on their faces and with the huge yellow eyes fixed on the six.

"We do as planned! You..." Brick said turning to the androids "... cover our backs and..." he turned again to his brothers "... we attack. Try to stay as far as possible from those things. We still don't know what they can do." The red head said.

"Got it!" the others said and flew to their positions. If you looked from above, their positions resembled a circle. They stood as close as they could to each other without getting in each other's way, but they did their best to keep the creatures as far away from them as possible and that wasn't an easy task.

At first they tried to keep the creatures away with the laser beams. However, this strategy wasn't very efficient because the creatures weren't affected by lasers. The attack only managed to make them stop on their tracks for a few seconds and then resume their path. They could only slow them down, but those things were getting closer and closer to the six.

"Guys! This isn't working!" Boomer shouted as he shot another laser from his eyes.

"Tell me something I don't know!" Butch shouted exasperated that he couldn't go and beat the crap out of those creatures.

"We'll have to split up and fight them the old way!" Brick shouted.

"Now ya' talking ma' language!" the brunette boy said a little smirk appearing on his lips.

"Stay as close as you can! And don't try anything stupid!" the red headed boy said, looking at his green eyed brother as he spoke the last words. The others nodded and they broke the circle.

Butch was the first one to fly from the formation. He took off with such speed that he made some of the creatures he passed loose their balance and fell on their backs. He flew straight to a big group of them and threw an energy attack when he was only 6 feet away from them. They were obviously surprised to realize that it was not the boy that was heading towards them, but it was a huge ball of energy. All the creatures in that little group were violently thrown backwards.

"Ha! Who's da' man?" he shouted wile laughing. This moment of inattention had cost him, because in the next moment one of the creatures that he had hit, quickly charged for him. He was thrown back so hard he hit some of the other creatures that had been fighting the brunette android.

"Uh! I'm going to feel this tomorrow!" he mumbled, getting up and holding one of his arms that hurt him. Just then, something grabbed his leg really hard. He turned his head and saw one of the creatures holding his leg with its claw. He tried pulling his leg out of the demon's grasp, but to no avail. Suddenly a great pain went through all his body and he screamed.

"Considering that I'll live 'till tomorrow." He hissed, tying hard to suppress another scream and to keep himself on his feet. It was like it was burning his skin. He tried pulling his leg from the demon's claw again just to realize that this action only made the pain, and the creature's smile, grow.

He closed his eyes tightly, biting his lower lip to stop himself from screaming. Suddenly something happened and the pain became unbearable for just a few seconds, but that was enough to make him let out that scream that he had been holding inside and he fell on the ground holding his leg. After that, the pain began to disappear fast and he noticed that the creature's claw wasn't holding his leg anymore.

He opened his eyes to see the brunette robot kicking one of the creatures in the stomach and sending it flying through the air. In a moment he realized what had happened: the robot had seen what the creature was doing to him and got it off him. For a moment he thought that he should thank the android, but then remembered that it would be useless. So, instead, he motioned for her to follow him and they both charged into a big group of creatures.

Boomer had another strategy, one very different from his brunette brother's one. As Brick had told them, the blonde tried to stay as far as possible from the creatures, considering that he didn't know what to expect. Even if he would never admit it, the Blue Ruff was never the one to appreciate the unknown.

He flew through the whole area at top speed. He shot energy balls at every creature that got in front of him. At first he was pleased to see that the energy attack was more efficient than laser beams, but as he looked around him he realized that the creatures he had hit weren't too affected by his blasts, as they were up in just a few seconds after they had been brought down.

"Shit! How the blazing Hell are we going to beat these things?" he shouted, but, because of the speed his voice was just a mumble. He looked behind him to see a group of five of those creatures heading in his direction with their yellow eyes on him and those evil smiles wider than he remembered.

"Oh shit!" he cursed under his breath. He held his hands together forming a big energy ball. As he did this he slowed down a little but it was enough for the demons to catch up with him. He looked at them to see that they were only a few feet away from him. He smirked seeing this.

"Adios suckers!" he shouted as he threw the big energy ball in the creatures' way. Because of the little distance that had been between the boy and the demons, Boomer's trackers were thrown backwards a big distance and left a huge hole in the ground where they landed.

But the blonde forgot that this action wouldn't affect just the demons. So he was very surprised to find himself flying through the air with great speed. After a few seconds he realized what had happened and tried to stop himself. He eventually did it, but when he looked around he realized that he had done exactly what Brick said not to do: he went too far.

From where he was he could still see the place where the others were fighting. He watched as Butch punched one of the creatures, who went sailing through the air and into what was left of a building. A few seconds later the creature was back into the air.

He was about to take off and go back, but suddenly a great pain went through his body. He let out a short scream and fell back on the ground. It took him a few seconds to realize that the pain was coming from his back. He tried to turn around, but he fell on his knees with a scream. But he had managed to see some of those creatures behind him and one of them had its hand stretched out at him and he hadn't been able to see its claw. It was probably on his back and it caused all that pain. The other creatures were getting closer and closer to him.

But at that moment, the creatures that were approaching him didn't mean anything as he felt the pain growing even more unbearable. It felt like something sharp was digging through his flesh. He tried to get up and get the demon off him but as he tried to move it hurt him even more.

After a few seconds he heard something like energy charging and he prepared for the worst. But in the next moment he felt himself being pushed forward. He fell on his stomach with a gasp. He raised his head in time to see some of those creatures flying through the air as if blown by something. Just then he realized that the claw in his back had disappeared.

He slowly got off the ground, still feeling some of the pain. He looked around and saw that the creatures were already starting to recover. He looked back to see that the blue eyed android still in attack position. He kept his eyes on it a few seconds longer then smiled at it.

"Thanks." He said. The robot turned its eyes to him and gave him what could've been interpreted as a questioning look. He sighed but didn't say anything, as the creatures had already recovered and they were charging for the two. Boomer frowned seeing them and took off with the android close by.

At first sight Brick's plan didn't seem too different from Boomer's. He has flying through the whole area with great speed attacking the creatures, mostly with energy attacks. But he wasn't jumping at the first demon that came in his way, like his brother did. He was paying attention to everything trying to bring down more of the creatures with one hit. He tried to get the demons he attacked to crash in the groups of creatures that he had noticed they had the habit of forming.

"They're making my job easier." He thought while seeing this. But after a few minutes of this action he noticed, just like his brothers, that the demons weren't really affected by the attacks.

"Crap!" the red head said while watching some demons get up after one of his attacks. He growled as the creatures turned their heads with the large smiles still on their faces.

"Oh, no you don't!" he hissed when he saw the demons rising into the air. Taking a deep breath he used his fire breath on them. This brought them down, but this time he didn't wait for them to get up again. He took off looking around, trying to find his brothers. He saw Butch and the brunette android, back to back, keeping some of the demons away from them. He turned his head and saw the pink eyed robot punching a demon and sending it flying in a large structure. He looked back and was very surprised to see that creatures that he had just used his fire breath on were not very far from him. Looking in front of him again he saw another group of demons heading right at him.

"Ops! I didn't plan this one." He said. He kept flying towards the group in front of him, making sure that the other one was following. When he was just a few feet away from the first group and the other one wasn't very far either, he changed direction so fast that only the red streak left behind him could tell that he had moved.

"But that doesn't mean I can't handle it!" he continued with a satisfied smirk on his face. He turned his head and was shocked to see that, at quite a distance, Boomer was pinned down by one of the creatures and others were approaching. He was about to take off in that direction when he saw the blonde robot using an energy attack to blow the demons away, literary.

"Boomer you gave me such a fright." He said closing his eyes and sighing in relief. That moment was enough for one of the creatures to kick the boy hard in the back, sending him flying to the ground. He crashed rather painfully.

"Bloody Hell!" Brick cursed trying to get up. He heard something landing in front of him. He raised his eyes to see the creature that had hit him standing right there looking down at him. If it was possible, its evil smile was even wider. The demon looked into Brick's eyes. For some reason the boy couldn't break the gaze. He remembered the hooded demon that Blossom and he faced the day before. Maybe this creature had the same paralyzing power. His mind was screaming at him to break the gaze, but his body refused to obey.

Suddenly, the demon's huge eyes began to glow in a sinister reddish color. In the first moments he didn't realize what was happening, but after a few seconds the air temperature grew so much the boy thought he had been thrown on the surface of the sun.

"What's happening?" he thought, closing his eyes because of the heat. The words of the red headed android suddenly came in his mind: "It seems that, somehow, the skin was melted." That was what happened to Jeff: a sudden burst of heat that didn't leave the skin the time to burn so it just melted. That was what the creature was trying to do to him. For a moment he panicked and opened his mouth to scream. However, when his lips parted his throat went dry and it was getting harder and harder for him to breathe. He thanked God for his powers, because he would've been dead by that time without them.

All of a sudden the heat started to drop. The change surprised the boy as much as the heat had. He opened his eyes and saw the pink eyed robot with the creature that had been trying to kill him in one hand. She threw it in the air and made an energy attack that followed the demon just a second after it was freed from the android's grip. The strike hit the creature exactly between its eyes. For a moment nothing happened, but then a black star appeared in that spot and the creature disappeared.

Brick watched this with wide eyes. So the demons did have a weak spot after all. He smirked and looked at the robot that still had its eyes on the place where the creature had been just a moment ago. She looked like she had always known that this would happen.

"I changed my mind. You're staying in one piece when all this ends." Brick told the robot. At this she turned her head at him. "The command has failed in being processed." She simply answered his comment.

"Forget that one! Come with me!" he said rolling his eyes. He took off with the robot close behind. He headed towards his brothers. He had to tell them.

A few yards away from the red heads, the two brunettes were in the middle of a big problem, literally. They were surrounded by at lest fifteen of the little red creatures that were getting closer.

"Shit! Can't these things move faster? How am I supposed to make a surprise attack if they move like a bunch of turtles!" the boy almost shouted, obviously very irritated.

"This is probably what they are trying to avert." The android said.

"You're not helping." Butch commented while turning to look at her. She didn't give him any attention and shoot a green ray from her hand towards one of the creatures that was getting too close to her. He sighed, realizing that she wouldn't give him any more attention than the comment she had made.

He turned his head back and saw that one of the demons had jumped from its original position and was now heading towards him. For a moment he thought about attacking, but in the second his green eyes met the creature's yellow ones his mind went blank. He couldn't even move. He saw the demon's eyes starting to glow a reddish color, but in the next moment a red energy ball hit the creature in the face. For a second nothing happened. Then the demon disappeared.

At first he was too shocked even to move, but then he felt something hitting him on the shoulder. He turned around so fast that Brick, who had playfully punched his shoulder, backed away a few feet. Butch blinked a few times when he saw his brother there.

"Dude, you scared the crap out of me!" the brunette was finally able to speak. Brick smiled at his brother.

"I know how to beat these things." He told the green eyed boy. Butch looked at him for a few seconds trying to find any signs that he might be kidding, but then realized his brother wouldn't joke in such a situation.

"How?" the brunette asked.

"Check it out!" the red head smiled and turned around. One of the creatures was charging at him, but before it could attack Brick punched it hard between its eyes. For a second the demon just stood there, unmoving. Then a black star appeared in the spot that it had been hit and the creature disappeared just like the one that had been attacking Butch a few seconds ago.

"So... we hit them between the eyes, huh?" Butch finally said.

"You got it!" the red head answered. The brunette looked at his brother for a few seconds then smirked. He turned around and charged at the large group of creatures. His attacks were hard and fast with such accuracy that you'd imagine he had been doing this kind of thing his whole life. Brick watched him doing this, occasionally attacking some of the creatures that were getting too close to him. The two robots were more active, using mainly energy attacks and hitting most of their targets.

"Yeah! It feels good to win!" Butch shouted after he had finished the large group of demons.

"Yeah! But we should tell Boomer about this too, don't you think?" Brick commented with a smile on his lips.

"Oh man... can't you play messenger and I stay here to finish these things?" the Green Ruff said with an oh-come-on expression on his face.

"No." Came the answer that sounded like it wouldn't accept a comeback.

"Oh, all right! Let's go!" the brunette said. The red eyed boy smiled at his brother. He took off towards the place Boomer was, with the others close behind him.

The Blue Ruff and the blonde android had more control over the situation than two brunettes had a few minutes ago. Mainly, the android's sonic scream and his electric attacks were keeping the creatures back. The two were trying to get back to the area where they knew the others were. In his mind Boomer was cursing himself for getting so far from the others. If it hadn't been for the blue eyed robot, now he could've been like the man that they found when they landed. He shivered at the thought. This turned his attention from of what he was doing and he missed one of the demons.

The creature didn't miss the opportunity and it charged at him. His eyes widened when he saw it. He was getting in attack position, but out of no where, a green streak appeared and the creature was thrown backwards. In the next second a red energy ball hit the demon in the head. For a moment it just stood there. Then the creature disappeared. He blinked.

"Hey bro!" Butch yelled at him smiling and charging into the group of demons that the two blondes had been trying to hold back. He blinked a few more times in confusion. He looked back. Another green streak passed by him and he realized that it was the brunette android. He looked at his red headed brother who was floating just a few feet away from him.

"Hit the demons between their eyes." He said. Boomer gave him a confused look. "That's their weak spot. If you hit them there they disappear." He explained. The boy nodded not very convinced. But he convinced himself when he turned his head to look at his other brother.

Butch was anything but shy with the demons. He jumped in the air punching one of the demons between its eyes and then kneed another one that was below him in the same spot. Seeing a demon that was charging for him he dodged its kick and grabbed it by the shoulders. He threw the creature forward. In the same moment the brunette robot repeated the same operation with another demon and the two creatures collided with one another and disappeared.

Boomer stared at this. "You weren't joking about the eyes?" he asked his brother. Brick made a quick turn, kicking one of the demons that was trying to sneak behind him.

"Nope." He answered while the demon was disappearing. Boomer smiled.

"Let's kick some demon butt!" he yelled as he charged in a big group of creatures with the blonde robot behind him. The reds did the same. This continued for a few more minutes during which it seemed that the boys would win.

In his lair, HIM was watching this, quite frustrated.

"You think you're winning little heroes, now don't you?" he hissed. "But these young warriors can do more than you think." he said letting out an evil laugh.

Back in town

There were still many creatures left though, now, the boys and the androids could handle them. But the demons were coming faster and faster and the boys were getting tired.

"Man, I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep this up!" Boomer shouted at his brothers.

"Tired already bro?" Butch said teasingly, but he too felt a little exhausted.

"Shut up Butch!" Brick shouted while punching a demon. "At this rate we'll never get all of them. It seems like there are thousands of them!"

"Stop being so negative bro! We'll finish these guys in no time!" the brunette shouted kicking one of the creatures hard between the eyes.

Suddenly the demons stopped coming towards them. They seemed to retreat.

"See? They're already running away!" The Green Ruff exclaimed, proud of himself.

"You should take a better look Butch." Boomer said pointing at the demons. The brunette looked in the direction his brother was pointing.

The creatures were forming little groups of ten. The boys looked at them not very sure of what they were doing. All of a sudden the demons started glowing. The light became so strong that the boys had to cover their eyes. When they opened them there were fewer creatures around, but those who were still there were bigger and looked a lot stronger.

"What happened?" Butch asked.

"It looks like the demons have united." The brunette robot answered.

"What!" Brick almost shouted. He was about to say more when he noticed that three of the now bigger creatures were charging at them.

"Look out!" he yelled. Butch and he managed to dodge the hit just in time, but Boomer wasn't so lucky and he was hit hard in the gut. He saw sent flying through the air and crashed in a nearby building.

"Ouch! That really hurt!" he mumbled while getting to his feet. He flew in the air still dizzy from his crash. He faintly heard his brother screaming his name. He raised his head in time to see a huge energy ball heading his way. His eyes widened at the sight, but he was still too dizzy to make any move.

In the last moment he felt himself being pushed aside by someone and he fell on the ground. He looked up in time to see the blonde android being caught in the energy attack. But for a moment he didn't see the android there, but Bubbles being hit by the attack that was meant for him.

"Bubbles!" he yelled with the image of the Jeff, the little girl and the man fresh in his head. He wanted to go and get her out of there. He must've made a move to do this because he felt someone grabbing him from the back and when he turned he saw Brick.

"What's wrong?" the red head asked looking at his brother.

"Nothing. Just that... for a moment... I thought it was Bubbles there." The boy answered.

"Don't worry. Bubbles is OK. She's with the other girls. They're probably already getting close to HIM." The Red Ruff calmed his brother and himself down. The energy ball had destroyed the android.

"They're more powerful now." Butch said getting closer to his brothers. "Do you think that they still have that weak spot?" he asked looking worried.

"There's only one way to find out." Boomer said. Brick nodded to his brothers and the two robots.

All five of them charged at the creatures. Butch dodged a few blasts and went straight to one of the demons kneeing him between its eyes. The creature lost its balance and looked like it was really hurt, but it didn't disappear.

Boomer flew to the closest demon and began a face to face combat with it. They spent a few minutes throwing and blocking hits. The boy had received a few powerful blows but didn't stop. He crouched to avoid the creature's punch and then hit it with a punch of his own right between its eyes. The demon was thrown back a few feet. It took a few moments for it to restrain itself, but it was still there.

Brick flew between the creatures avoiding most of the attacks, but at one point he was hit by a powerful blast in the back. He was thrown forward a few yards. He shook his head straitening himself. Suddenly he felt something grabbing him from behind. He struggled to get free, but he only managed to get a glimpse of the demon's wide smile. He growled closing his eyes and concentrated. Then, without any warning he made a jump flip and kicked the creature right in what he considered the soft spot. The demon let him go. He turned around to see that, although his hit had hurt the creature, it didn't disappear.

He growled in frustration, looking around him and seeing the same thing happen when the red headed robot had tried to throw an energy ball at one of the creatures. She backed down when she saw that the attack hadn't worked. He flew a little further from the demons, his brothers and the red haired robot following.

"Hey! Where's the other one?" Butch asked referring at his counterpart's copy.

"I don't know." Boomer answered looking around.

The brunette android was still fighting one of the creatures. As she ducked a blast she made a big energy ball that she intended to use to attack the demon. But the creature had similar plans with her. As she released her attack the demon did the same. The energy ball, which was more powerful than what all the others had used, got to its target, but so did the creature's bow. There was a big explosion that threw back most of the demons that were close and two more of the creatures were caught in the explosion. When it all cleared they could see that the green eyed robot was no more, but it was the same with the three creatures that had been caught in the explosion.

The boys watched this with wide eyes. The other android watched undisturbed. Brick's mind was working very fast. How could've this happen? What made the demons disappear too? Then the answer came to him as clear as day.

"Guys I know!" he said. The others looked at him. "Their weakness is still that spot between their eyes, but now they are stronger so we have to hit them harder." He said rather fast. It took the others a few second juts to realize what he had said.

"How hard?" Butch asked.

"I'm not sure. But it should be something as powerful as that explosion." Came the answer.

"Guys! We should get moving!" Boomer said pointing at the creatures that were charging for them.

The others looked at the demons and agreed that they shouldn't face them head on. They flew with great speed trying to escape the creatures that were following them.

"Uh! Too bad we can't just turn around and punch them in the face." Butch complained avoiding an energy blast. Brick's eyes widened when he heard this.

"Butch, I never imagined I'd say this, but you're a genius!" the red head said smiling.

"Really?" the brunette asked, then, realized what he said. "I mean, yeah, I am." He said. He thought for a second. "How come I'm genius?" he asked confused.

"We'll do exactly what you said: we'll fly around as fast as we can with them on our tracks and when we go fast enough we turn around and hit them as hard as we can. It should be powerful enough!" the red head explained. The others nodded.

They put the plan into action and a few minutes later they were flying so fast that you could only see the colorful streaks that they were leaving behind. At one moment, when they considered their speed was high enough they suddenly stopped, turned around and each threw a powerful attack at the creatures that were chasing them. It worked well enough for the boys, but the one chasing the android saw what was happening and used and energy attack on the robot. She managed to hit the demon hard enough to make it disappear, but the energy attack was powerful enough to destroy her too.

The boys were really surprised to see what happened to the android. For a moment, Blossom's image appeared in Brick's head and he thanked God that she hadn't really been there.

"It looks like there's only the three of us left." Butch said looking at the place where the robot had exploded.

Brick opened his mouth to say something, but in that second a big energy ball hit all three of them and it sent them crashing to the ground.

Inside HIM's lair.

"The Power Puff Girls are destroyed and those three little traitors will follow soon! What a delight!" HIM laughed in his feminine voice as he watched the events.

"I should've done this earlier." He said smiling. He watched in silence for a few more minutes in which the boys' chances of winning seemed to drop drastically.

"Although the girls were defeated a little too easily..." He found himself thinking. He wasn't sure where that thought had come from, but it made him think of it. He replayed the battle in his head, but before he could come to any conclusion he heard something.

"Hello shadow demon." A girl's voice echoed in his mind. He looked around the large room but there was no one there.

"Who are you?" he shouted.

"Your greatest nightmare." The voice answered sounding both evil and amused.

HIM didn't have time to reply because in the next moment a great pain went through his whole body. He fell on the floor of the large chamber, with a loud scream.

Somewhere in the distance, the girl's voice was giggling.

* * *

That was Chapter 20! Wow, this was the longest one yet. I first thought that I'd make two chapters out of this one, but I decided not to.

I'll do my best to update the next chapter sooner than I did with this one. I promise!

See ya in Chapter 21!


	21. The beginning of the journey

Hi everyone! Here's Chapter 21! I hope you'll like it!

Thank you AsianGlitter, Dennis Gerbera, virginia and CamillaMB for your reviews. You're the best!

This story is dedicated to my cousins Mara and Irina! I love you guys!

**Disclaimer:** Same as always.

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 21: The beginning of the journey 

The girls stared at the six colored streaks until they completely disappeared. For some reason, they felt like going after them. Leaving them leave like that felt so... so wrong... like they wouldn't be able to see them again.

Buttercup turned to her sisters. The two were looking at the sky with very different expressions on their faces. Bubbles looked very worried and, for a moment, Buttercup thought that her sister was going to take off after the boys. But she didn't and the brunette was relieved. If the blonde would've done that she would've had to make her come back and the blue eyed girl would've probably cried and said that she was worried and that they couldn't leave the boys face HIM by themselves and a lot of other things that would probably be true. For the first time in her life Buttercup doubted that they could win and having someone telling her so would've just made things worse for her.

The Green Puff turned her eyes to her red headed sister. She was, too, looking at the sky, but she didn't look so worried. If she really was, then she hid it well. The red head had a serious expression on her face. She looked very concentrated, like she usually looked when she was trying to solve something important. Buttercup wondered what was on her mind. Maybe she would ask her... or maybe not. The Pink Puff had been quite reserved in the last months... "Like she wants to keep something to herself." The thoughts echoed in the girl's mind for a few seconds, before she realized that those were her thoughts and not something someone just said. She blinked. Keep something to herself? Blossom never did that before. And what could the red head possibly hide? She dismissed the possibility.

"What do we do now?" the brunette heard the voice of her blue eyed sister. Buttercup hadn't been paying much attention to what was happening around her for the past seconds and she heard her sister's question like it was coming from a big distance. Even so, she could tell that the weak voice she had heard speaking wasn't the result of her lack of attention.

The green eyed girl turned to look at her sister. The blonde was quite pale and there were tears in the corners of her eyes. For the first time, she didn't feel like teasing her. Buttercup looked at the leader of their group. Blossom didn't seem to have heard her sister's question. She was still looking at the sky and her features hadn't moved a bit. The brunette was hoping that the red head would answer Bubbles' question so she wouldn't have to speak about that, but it seemed that she had been wrong. The Pink Puff didn't look like she was going to snap out of her trance any time soon. She hated when that happened. It wasn't a usual thing, but when it occurred Buttercup could see how hard her sister's job as a leader could get.

"We wait." The brunette answered her sister's question. It was a simple answer, the most simple she could think of. She didn't want to get too deep into the problem. It wasn't her style. She didn't like to plan and anticipate every little thing. She always said that life wouldn't be any fun if people always tried to find out what was going to happen next. She knew that it would've been a lot easier if they had a plan, but they didn't have any idea of what was waiting for them. They just had Blossom's suppositions that she still wasn't sure where the red head had got them from. "That girl's brain works too much." She thought. But "that girl's brain" never let them down in an important situation before and she couldn't think of any reason why it would start doing it then.

"We wait". The words echoed in Bubbles' brain for several moments. Two words... just two simple words... but why did they hurt so much? The blonde looked at her dark haired sister. The brunette had a frown on her face, but her eyes seemed soft... softer than they'd usually be when she'd say something the Green Puff didn't like. Buttercup was worried, Bubbles could see that.

"We wait". The words rang in her head again. They had to wait. What were they waiting for? They were waiting for the boys to distract HIM so they could sneak in his lair and destroy the source of his power.

"We wait". They were going to wait as the boys were risking their lives just for a diversion... to make their job easier. She felt so guilty. Trying to distract HIM when he was so powerful and so furious at the same time was pure suicide. But even so... the boys accepted to do it. Why did they do it? She knew that they weren't stupid enough to think that they could beat HIM. Not after what happened with the demons. "I am Arsione" the girl remembered the way the demon presented herself. She could even recall her tone: half amused, half disgusted. She had been sacred of her... really scared. She could still see her when she was getting closer and closer to her, after Boomer went unconscious and the demon was about to finish her as well. The boys weren't going to beat HIM. And she had the feeling that they were going to need a miracle to stay alive... the kind of miracle that saved them the first time. But they didn't know what caused that miracle and they didn't have any idea if it would happen again. So this time they were going to make that miracle.

"We wait". But what if they were going to arrive too late and HIM would have already finished with the boys? How were they going to know when to get going? What were they going to do if they were late? If the boys... the blonde shook her head, pushing away the dark thoughts at least for a few seconds.

"For how long?" she asked, her voice even weaker than before. She looked at Buttercup. The brunette's mouth opened but nothing came out of it. Then it closed again. She didn't know the answer. She wanted to answer something, but she didn't know what. Bubbles could see this, so she turned her attention to the person that she knew would have an answer.

Blossom was still staring at the sky and the only move she made was to frown a little as her mind replayed all the recent events. They were all related and she had a vague impression how, too. But she wasn't very sure about many details and many others were still unknown to her. This complicated the situation. "For how long?" she faintly heard her blonde sister ask. She hadn't been paying attention to her two sisters since the boys and the androids left. She had been aware of the fact that they had been talking, but she couldn't tell their exact words. However, when she heard her sister's question she immediately knew what they had been talking about. She closed her eyes calculating the time that the boys would need to fully get HIM's attention.

"We have around half an hour until we have to get to action." The red head said turning around and walking upstairs. Her sisters watched her doing this, thinking of her answer. "Half an hour..." they thought. Wouldn't that be too long?

The Pink Puff reached the stairs and stopped for a few moments. The other two Puffs wondered what was on her mind. They were expecting her to continue her way after a minute or two. But instead, the red head turned her head to them with a very serious expression on her face and said:

"If you still have something to do, you'd better do it now." After that she continued her walk towards the room they shared without looking back.

The other girls stared at her as she disappeared through the open door of their room. They didn't like the tone that she had used to tell them that. It sounded scary. Like... like they were never going to come back. But that couldn't happen... right? They knew how to destroy the crystal and HIM wouldn't even know they were coming until it was too late. What could go wrong?

They looked at each other. They were both a little scared by their sister's words, but when their eyes met they both decided that Blossom was just overreacting and their plan would work perfectly. They knew their sister: she always worried too much. Sometimes she was worse than the Professor. But they decided to make her happy and take her advice.

Buttercup went into the kitchen to have something to eat. On her way she imagined how bad she was going to beat up HIM. She smirked at the thought. She had wanted to do that for some time and now it was finally her chance to do it.

Bubbles went into the living room and began searching through the mess that their pillow fight had made. She remembered that she had left her octopus doll, Octi, in that room. She wanted to talk to the little doll. She always felt better when she did that and now she really needed to feel better.

In the girls' room Blossom was standing in front of the open window staring at the huge amount of smoke and dust that was rising from the place where the town was. She sighed. The battle had probably begun. She wondered what HIM had thrown at the town this time. She wasn't sure. And she wasn't even sure if she'd be able to find out.

It was true: she was worried... worried that they wouldn't make it. It was very possible. Usually they managed to pull through of any situation, but this wasn't just any situation. She closed her eyes, thinking.

What would happen if they didn't make it? If she had calculated correctly, and there was a very little chance she had made any mistakes, they would be able to get to the crystal in time. The boys wouldn't be too hurt and the chance of them dying was very small. Even so, she shivered thinking about the possibility.

But she wasn't sure if her sisters and she would be so lucky. She didn't really know how the crystal was going to react in the moment they'd begin the attack. She just knew that it would be defeated. But what it was going to do before that was still a mystery to her.

And something happening to the Power Puff Girls wasn't going to stop HIM's kind from completing their mission. But it would certainly represent a big loss for the others because she was the only one that knew more about the whole situation. The information she had was a big advantage, especially because the ones that were looking for the "chosen one" didn't know this.

She opened her eyes and slowly left the window. She walked to the big bed and went under it. A minute later she came out holding a silvery notebook. As she walked towards her desk she looked through the written pages.

She reached the desk and sat down. She got to the first white page. Taking a pen, she began writing. Twenty minutes later she was done. She reread what she had written. A few minutes later she was satisfied. She closed the notebook and took a blank sheet of paper and wrote something on it. She left it on top of the notebook and went out of the room and downstairs.

There, she found her sisters waiting for her. For a moment she was surprised to see both of them there, so quiet, as if they were trying not to disturb someone. At first they didn't notice that she was already there. This gave her the opportunity to study their faces. They looked like they had been waiting for some time. What could they have been waiting for? Then she realized that it was her. She understood that they didn't take her words seriously and thought that she was overreacting. But they didn't want to disturb her. She half smiled at her sisters' attitude. She knew what they were feeling and what they were waiting for.

"Are you ready girls?" she asked. The two Puffs startled at the sound of their sister's voice. They looked up at her and smiled.

"You bet!" Buttercup said smiling.

"What are we waiting for?" Bubbles spoke.

"Let's go!" Blossom smiled at them.

With that, they all took off. They flew in silence, each far away in her own thoughts. They avoided getting too close to the town, taking a longer but safer route to HIM's lair. They knew where the demon lived because they had been there a few times before. Of course, they usually used the roof to get in, but they knew of a "back door" that they could use to creep in.

They landed in front of the place. It was two miles away from the town and they had made sure not to get close to Townsville so HIM wouldn't see them. The "back door" was in a cave, very close to the sea.

The girls stared at it. If they hadn't known better they would've thought that it was a kind of refuge for teenagers who wanted to keep their little love affairs secret. As they walked inside the cave, this impression grew. There were love messages written all over the cave's walls.

"How sweet!" Bubbles exclaimed as she read a small love poem on one of the walls.

"Gross!" Buttercup said reading the work of another "artist".

Blossom ignored all the words on the walls. She knew the entrance to HIM's lair was somewhere around there, between all the love words that Bubbles considered sweet and Buttercup thought to be gross.

"What are we looking for?" Buttercup asked.

"Something to open a door, or something like that." The red head answered.

"Can't you come up with something more... I don't know... more exact?" the brunette tried again.

"Something that is different from what's here." The pink eyed girl said not turning her attention from her search.

"Are these things different?" Bubbles spoke after a few minutes of search. The other two girls went to see what their sister had found. On one of the walls on the far side of the cave was a drawing with four red flames. It was very well executed and it was obvious that the one that made it was obsessed with small details.

Blossom looked at the four flames. In another situation she would've said that they were absolutely beautiful. She looked around, at the walls of the cave. Everything there had something to do with love: poems, declarations, hearts. There was not even a drawing of a flower. She looked back at the four flames. There was nothing else drawn on that wall, just the flames. She raised her hand and touched the drawing. She raised a brow in confusion.

"What is it?" Buttercup asked quite impatiently.

"I think this is it. Look." The red head said.

"It's the only drawing on the wall." Bubbles observed.

"Yes and there's something else." The Pink Puff said. "Here, touch the drawing." She said. The brunette reached her hand to do so. "Now put your hand on the other part of the wall." Buttercup did what her sister told her. Her eyes widened.

"It's warmer." She said.

"This is the entrance." Blossom said.

"But how do we open the... um... door?" the blonde asked.

"How else?" the green eyed girl said smirking. In the next second her fist made contact with the stone wall. But nothing happened. The wall didn't collapse and didn't even keep a sign that it had been hit.

"What?" the brunette said surprised. "Ow!" she exclaimed a second later when she felt her hand being burned. Just then she noticed that her fist landed exactly on the drawing which had burned her. "What's wrong with this thing?" she almost yelled frustrated that she hadn't been able to open the entrance.

"It's some kind of spell." Blossom said studying the four flames. She touched them too, but immediately pulled her hand back as they burned her fingers.

"How do we get through this?" the brunette asked still a little angry.

They looked at the drawing. "Flames..." Bubbles thought. "A drawing of flames that burns... just like a real fire..." her thoughts continued. A second later her eyes widened as an idea formed in her mind.

"You know... maybe the drawing is... symbolic." The blonde girl said after a few minutes of silence.

"What are you taking about?" Buttercup asked looking at her sister like she was nuts.

"Well... I think that the drawing could be symbolic. There are four flames that burn you when you touch them. I think they represent a wall of fire." The blonde explained.

"Yeah. That's right! Bubbles, you are a genius! All we have to do is... how should I say this?... put out the fire." the pink eyed girl said, impressed of the originality and simplicity of the trap.

"Um... how do we put out a drawn fire?" Bubbles asked trying to find her idea in what Blossom had just said.

"Like this!" the red head answered with a smile on her face. Then, without giving any more information she turned around to the four flames. She took a deep breath and blew her ice breath. When she finished they all saw that the flames were no more. In their place there was an opening. But they couldn't see what was on the other side because of the bright light that was coming out of it.

"Hm, I was expecting something... darker." The brunette commented while looking at the bright entrance.

"We aren't in yet. We don't know what's there." The red head said.

"Yeah, whatever. Let's go! I want to kick some demon ass." The green eyed girl said taking a few steps towards the source of light.

"You'll never change." Bubbles said smiling.

"Nope. And if I do, please shoot me!" Buttercup returned the smile and disappeared into the bright light. The other two followed.

On the other side of the entrance things weren't as bright as the world that they had just left. Everything was very obscure. There was only a dim light penetrating the darkness of what seemed to be a void.

"Is this dark enough for you?" Bubbles asked her brunette sister after they stepped in the obscure void.

"Wow! This place is huge!" the green eyed girl exclaimed, ignoring her sister's comment.

"I can't discuss such an accurate observation." The red head said looking around. Buttercup was about to make a comeback at Blossom's comment but she got interrupted.

"Guys, how do we get out of here?" the blonde asked. Just then the other two noticed that bright entrance had closed without even one clue that it had ever existed.

"Great, just great! We're trapped in a dark place in HIM's lair and we can't even find the way we got in!" the brunette exclaimed frustrated.

Blossom studied the place. It was very big, so big that it seemed that it didn't have an end. But there was something about that place that really disturbed her.

"Girls, don't you notice something strange about this place?" she asked her sisters. They looked at her and shook their heads.

"Except for it being as big as the sky and disturbingly sinister,.. no, nothing." The blonde said trying to see something that would show them the way to get out of there.

"Look around." Blossom insisted. They did what she told them, but didn't seem to notice anything special. "Do you see any source of light?" she gave them a hint when she saw that they weren't sure what to look for.

Just then the two realized that the obscure light that helped them see wasn't produced by some kind of magical sun, by lamps or by anything else that could be seen. So they looked at the only part that they hadn't inspected yet: the ground.

They noticed, the ground wasn't what they were used to. It was made of what looked like thin white platforms that were placed at unequal distances from one another. This image gave the disturbing impression of a spider's web. And there was another weird thing about the "web": it was glowing. But at a closer look the girls could see that there were millions of little sparks passing through the platforms which produced light.

"Mystery solved: the light is coming from the floor." The brunette said, wondering why it was so important for Blossom to find out where the light was coming from.

"Buttercup, have you noticed these sparks?" the red head asked motioning towards the floor.

"Yeah, they're the ones making the "floor" glow. What's so important about them?" the green eyed girls asked.

"Yeah, Blossom, I don't understand." The blonde said too.

"Look here." The red haired girl said showing them the sparks. "These things are, in a way... organized."

"What are you talking about?" the blue eyed girl asked.

"I'm talking about the fact that these things come from somewhere, they have a source and I think that if we find that source we'll find the way out too." The Pink Puff explained.

"Good job leader girl!" Buttercup exclaimed smiling at her sister.

"We should get going." The pink eyed girl said beginning to walk in the direction where the little sparks were coming from. Her sisters followed her.

They walked in silence a few more minutes, looking around for anything that could represent the exit. They had to be careful where they were stepping too, because the platforms weren't large.

"Uh, why aren't we flying?" Buttercup asked, getting impatient.

"Because, Buttercup, if the way out is in where these sparks are coming from then we won't be able to notice it if we fly." The red head explained. The brunette opened her mouth to make a comeback, but was interrupted.

"Guys... what's that sound?" Bubbles asked in a weak voice looking around like she was expecting to see something horrible.

"What sound?" Blossom asked and the Green Puff understood that even if she tried to make that comeback she would be ignored. She closed her mouth and listened. There really was a sound, but it wasn't something that could be considered normal. It somewhat resembled the sound a small river would make, but it felt disturbingly... alive... like a living creature was making that sound.

"What's making this sound?" Bubbles asked, getting a little closer to her sisters.

"Maybe this answers your question." The green eyed girl said pointing to a place in front of them. The three girls looked in that direction. In the dim light provided by the little sparks in the platforms, several silhouettes could be seen and they were twice as big as the girls. The three Puffs watched with sacred eyes as the figures became clearer and clearer until they were facing a small army of big black spiders.

"Spiders! Why do they have to be spiders?" the brunette exclaimed. She was still a little afraid of those insects.

"Aaahhh! Bugs! Big Bugs!" Bubbles screamed warping her arms around her red haired sister's body, seeking protection.

"Uh, so that's why this thing reminded me so much of a spider's web." The red head said while trying to calm her blonde sister down.

Buttercup closed her eyes and took a deep breath trying to calm herself down. "They're only spiders, Buttercup." She thought opening her eyes. "Uh, disgusting, filthy, overgrown spiders" she thought when she saw the big insects. "But still spiders." She breathed out.

"Do we have to get through those things to get out?" Bubbles said freeing Blossom a little.

"I'm afraid so, Bubbles." The red head answered, thankful that she could breathe again.

* * *

Sorry guys, but I have to stop here. School started and my time to write has been cut short. I hope you liked it 'till here.

I'm not sure when the next chap will come, but I think that I may be able to update it next weekend. I'll see what I can do.

See ya' in Chapter 22!


	22. Inside darkness

Hey everyone! Told ya' I'd be done by this weekend! At least this time I wasn't late.

Thanks AsianGlitter and Dennis Gerbera for reviewing Chapter 21! I love you guys!

This story is dedicated to may cousins Mara and Irina. I don't know what I'd do without you guys!

**Disclaimer:** I hate the one that invented this thing. Oh, all right: I don't own the Power Puff Girls! Are you happy?

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 22: Inside darkness

The three girls watched as the big insects approached them. Their bodies were covered with something that looked like dark fur and a thick green liquid was dripping form their large fangs.

"What the Hell!" Buttercup exclaimed. "These are just spiders!"

"Very big spiders." Bubbles added looking at the dark creatures coming closer and closer.

"Yeah, but still... that doesn't mean we can't get rid of them as easily as we do with the small ones." The brunette said, a little pissed by the fact that her sister was so scared. Even though she had to admit that the creatures did scare her too.

"Buttercup's right! We can't just stay here because we're afraid of spiders. We have more important things to do!" she said in a serious voice looking at her blonde sister and squeezed her shoulder to calm her. Bubbles nodded and the brunette smirked.

"Now ya' talkin' ma' language!" The Green Puff said. Then, without any warning she launched at one of the insects. She kicked one of them in the head and sent it flying a few feet backwards. But she didn't wait to see what happened with the insect. She jumped into the air and landed on top of another one of the spiders, kicking it in the same time. The creature wasn't able to handle the force of the hit so it fell off its feet.

She didn't wait this time either and she jumped off the spider, landed in front of another one, grabbed it by the head and threw it in a little group of creatures. Only after that she made a little pause to study what she had done. She was expecting to see the insects finished and without the possibility of getting up any time soon but when her eyes fell on the spiders she saw that they were getting up without any kind of problem.

Her green eyes grew big. In a couple of seconds the creatures were back on their feet and there was nothing, absolutely nothing to show they had been hit. The brunette got angry.

"What's wrong with these things?" she yelled exasperated. She crouched, getting ready for another attack, but her concentration was ruined when she heard her sister's voice screaming.

"Buttercup! Look out!" Blossom screamed as she saw one of the spiders getting ready to attack the dark haired girl. The Green Puff looked at her with confused eyes, obviously not knowing what to look out for. But she didn't get the chance to see, because a moment later she was pushed aside by the red head.

The creature that was going to attack the brunette had spat out a rather big amount of the green substance that was covering its fangs. Because Blossom had pushed Buttercup out of the way she hadn't been hit. But the same thing couldn't be said about the red head. She didn't have enough time to get herself out of the spider's attack and the green liquid had touched her shoulder causing her great pain. This made her loose her balance and almost fell off the web.

"Blossom!" Bubbles screamed running towards her red headed sister.

"Are you OK Red?" the brunette asked while helping the Pink Puff up.

"Yeah, don't worry about me. Just be careful not to get hit by those things." The red head said holding her hand over the place where she had been hit.

"Does it hurt?" the blonde asked, trying to make her sister look at her.

"Yes. And if we don't get out of here fast, then you'll find out too how much it hurts." The red head answered, throwing her sisters a look that said she wasn't joking.

They looked around and saw that the overgrown spiders hadn't wasted the time they had been talking. The insects were now surrounding the three girls, forming a living circle around them that didn't leave any possibility of escaping through normal ways. But, as we all know, the Power Puff Girls weren't the ones to use normal ways.

"Hn, these guys really don't who they're dealing with." Buttercup smirked as her sisters and she flew into the air. The spiders couldn't fly, not even jump.

"Now lets see how you'll get us!" the blonde stuck her tongue at the insects. In the next moment she felt herself being pulled backwards. She instantly opened her eyes to see a white substance fly just a few inches away from her face. She didn't have the time to recover from the shock because two arms turned her around and she faced her brunette sister who an angry look on her features.

"Are you crazy?! Keep your eyes open blondy! These things know a lot of tricks!" the Green Puff almost yelled at her sister. Just then another white shoot came and it went right between them.

"That was close." The green eyed girl commented looking at the spiders that were getting ready for another shoot.

"Be careful girls. These things can't come to us, but they can sure send us some nasty presents." The red head said while she was dodging one of the blows.

"OK, Blossom." The blonde answered, avoiding one of the shoots.

"No problem!" the green eyed girl said dodging two blows at the same time. But for her there was a problem, because, without knowing, she got in the way of another shoot. The white substance hit her and warped itself around her body.

"Ah! What the Hell?" the brunette screamed in surprise and in pain. The web was very tight around her body.

"Buttercup!" Bubbles shouted as another of the spiders' shoots went right beside her.

"Shit! Get this off me!" the Green Puff shouted at her sisters. Without even thinking, Blossom shot her laser beams at the white substance. Almost instantly, the web melted and returned to its creator. The creature jumped back as the heated substance touched its skin.

"Wow! That was tough!" The brunette said looking at the creature that had caught her off guard.

"I'll take care of them!" The blonde said, looking disgusted at the spiders. Some of them were already getting ready for another attack. She frowned at the insects. Then she hit her hands together, provoking a seismic wave that went directly towards the creatures. The spiders didn't seem to notice anything and proceeded with their attack. One of the shots missed her by only two or three inches.

"What? Why didn't it work?" the Blue Puff asked shocked that her scream hadn't worked.

"It takes more than a violent shake to make a spider fall off his web." Blossom explained, avoiding one of the creatures' shoots.

"So what are we going to do? If you've forgotten we don't have time to play with these things! We need a plan leader girl!" Buttercup exclaimed, already getting annoyed that she couldn't just get down there and beat the shit out of those creatures.

The red head didn't answer. She reviewed in her mind everything that she had read in her biology books. She couldn't remember much of the few things that she read. A few moments later her eyes were half closed in concentration and she wasn't really paying any attention to what was happening around her.

"Think, Blossom! Think!" she screamed in her mind. "Spiders! Spiders! What are spiders vulnerable to?" as much as she tried she couldn't remember that part of her studies. Then something came in her mind: the way that spider jumped when the heated substance touched its skin. Then it hit her.

"Heat!" she almost screamed.

"What?" the brunette asked. She looked at her sister with curious eyes.

"Heat! That's what spiders, and most insects, are vulnerable to. They carbonize easily!" the red head explained. Both her sisters grinned at the information. Without any other word, they began their attack.

Blossom's idea proved to be good, because a few minutes later the situation had changed drastically. Now, the spiders were the ones that were retreating, most of them being burned by the girls' lasers.

"Yeah! That's right! Run!" Buttercup yelled at the dark creatures.

"I think they heard that." Bubbles said watching the few spiders that were still alive retreat.

"Don't celebrate so soon girls." The red head said looking in the direction that the insects were running.

"What's wrong?" the blue eyed girl asked turning her attention to her sister.

"They're going in the same direction that we have to go." Blossom answered.

"So what? We know how to beat them." Buttercup said with a little smile on her face. The red head sighed and began walking towards the direction the little sparks which gave light to the void were coming from.

They walked in silence for a few minutes. They continued searching for anything that could indicate the exit. They didn't see anything different from what they had seen until then. Suddenly, the river-like sound could be heard again.

"They're here!" Blossom said looking in the direction the sound was coming from. The dark creatures approached them more carefully this time. They looked like, now, they were ready for the girls' attack.

This was only half true, because they were still vulnerable to the girls' laser beams, but now they were dodging the blasts, a thing that they hadn't done just a few minutes ago. And this made the brunette Puff very upset.

"These things took an awfully short time to do their homework!" the dark haired girl commented, as one of the creatures avoided her shoot. "Ah!" she shouted in annoyance. She charged for the black insect, dodging the green liquid it had spat. She caught the spider by two of its legs and threw it into the air. She was about to hit it with her lasers when something hit her.

It was a white, sticky substance that immobilized her instantly. "What the-" but she didn't have the time to finish her sentence as a huge spider, more than ten times bigger than the other ones, made its appearance.

"What is that?" Bubbles said, staring at the huge creature.

"Hello! I could really use some help here!" Buttercup shouted at her sisters that still had their eyes one the new spider.

"Oh, right!" the blonde smiled. She used the laser beams and melted the web. It took her a little longer than it took with the other's web.

"OK, lets burn that thing!" the brunette said as she was getting up.

"I'm with you!" the blonde exclaimed. The red head only nodded. She looked like she was she was trying to figure something out.

The three girls charged for the big creature. They got into three different positions and shot their laser beams. The spider let out something that could've been a scream. It backed down a few feet, but it didn't die.

"What the Hell!" Buttercup almost shouted.

"Why wasn't it burned?" the Bubbles asked feeling fear growing in her heart.

"This one is a much stronger than the others." The red head answered. "I think that when it comes to this specie, the bigger they are the stronger they are. We'll need something really big to destroy this one."

"Then lets give it something big!" the brunette said smirking.

"No!" the Pink Puff said looking at her sisters.

"Why not?" the blonde the blonde asked confused.

"Look there!" the red head said pointing to a place under the big spider's legs. The other two did what they were told to. They were both surprised to see that there was the centre of the web. It was bright, brighter than the rest of the web. But it didn't shine with a white light. That spot had a pale red light. It was some kind of portal.

"If we use a more powerful attack, then it could melt the web and affect the exit. And we can't just go under that spider, 'cause there's a very little chance to get through without being hurt. When we get to the crystal we have to be at our best and we won't do that if that thing gets us!" Blossom said looking at her sisters.

"So... we have to make it get out of the way." Bubbles said, not very sure if she said the right thing. She smiled when she saw her red haired sister smile.

"And how the Hell are we going to do that without getting too close to it?" the brunette almost yelled. "Have you thought of that too Red?"

The Pink Puff looked at her sister and opened her mouth to say something. But in the next moment one of the little spiders caught her in its web.

"Ah!" she screamed struggling to get free.

"Uh, stupid creatures!" the brunette hissed. And she turned towards the insect that had caught Blossom and was now pulling her down. She shot her laser beams at the spider. It disappeared in less than a second. The web lost most of its power and the red head was able to get free.

"Thanks." Blossom said smiling at her black haired sister.

"Guys look out!" the two girls heard their sister scream. They looked at Bubbles to see that she was looking somewhere behind them with frightened eyes. They turned their eyes towards the place the blonde was looking. They barely had time to dodge to blow that was coming towards them.

"What was that?" Blossom asked.

"The big spider!" Bubbles answered. All three of them looked at the biggest creature. It seemed angry, very angry.

"What's with this thing?" the brunette asked a little scared of the sudden change.

The blonde opened her mouth, but closed it back because she didn't know what to say. The red head looked at the big spider with great interest in her eyes. To her, the whole thing was beginning to make sense. When they caught up to the dark creatures they only fought the little ones. The big one showed only when Buttercup killed one of the small spiders. And now it became angry when another little insect had been destroyed. Then the pictures in her biology books came into her mind. That was it.

"It's a she." The red head said.

"What?" the other two girls said in the same time.

"The big one is a female and the little ones are her babies." The Pink Puff explained.

"Oh..." the blonde said. "How cute..." she thought, but she didn't have the time to voice her thought because another one of the mother's blows hit her in the back. She let out a short scream as she fell to the ground.

"Bubbles!" Blossom shouted and without even thinking she flew to catch her. The brunette frowned at the scene and turned to the big creature.

"Stupid spider!" she shouted at the mother and used her lasers to make her retreat. Then she turned to her sisters. They were on the "floor" and Blossom was shooting her lasers at some of the insects. She managed to hit some of them, which really made the big spider angry.

But something else came into the green eyed girl's mind: the way the red head had gone after the blonde… so instinctive that she wasn't sure if the Pink Puff had even thought of doing that. Then the protective way the spider mother acted came to her mind. "A mom..." she thought. Then she smirked.

She flew towards her sisters. Blossom had just managed to make the big spider back down a little bit and the blue eyed girl finally got back on her feet. She punched one of the creatures that was close by.

"Girls! I have an idea!" the brunette girl said.

"What?" both the red head and the blonde looked at their sister. Blossom had a really weird look on her face.

"Yeah, I know this is your job but let me try." Buttercup told her sister. She nodded in agreement.

"Great!" the brunette said. "Just be ready to get into the portal. 'K?"

Bubbles gave her a confused look, but the red head smiled at her. Buttercup smiled back. Then she charged for one of the little spiders. She caught it by its legs in such a way that the creature wouldn't be able to attack her in any way.

The dark creature let out a sound that sounded like a scream. It was obvious that the mother took it so, because in the next second she had turned her attention to the girl who had captured her child. The big creature shot some of her venom at the brunette, but missed.

"If you what it back..." Buttercup shouted at the mother, motioning to the little spider that was struggling in her hands "... then you should come and get it!" she finished her sentence smirking. She flew a little further threatening to drop the insect into the void beneath.

The big spider seemed to understand that the girl wasn't joking because she moved from the place where she had been sitting and went after her. The brunette smirked at this and threw the little spider aside. Then she flew at top speed towards the portal. She saw her sisters doing the same thing.

The mother extended her big legs to catch her baby, without noticing that the three girls were entering the door that she was supposed to guard. None the girls were able to see if the big spider had caught her child, because they were already on the other side of the portal.

"Wow Buttercup! Where did you get that idea?" Bubbles exclaimed in the moment that she landed on the other side of the portal.

"It was easy! I've been watching Blossom mom us every day of my life. It would've been impossible not to figure out how that creature would react!" the brunette answered with a proud smile on her lips.

"I'm honored to know that you actually noticed me." The red head commented.

"Hey, listen Red..." Buttercup started, but she couldn't finish.

"Girls! Let's not get into a fight right now." Bubbles tried to calm the spirits. For a few minutes it seemed that the two girls wouldn't listen to their sister and that they'd start fighting. But after a short time Blossom sighed and closed her eyes.

"You're right Bubs. Sorry Buttercup, I just got used to doing this." The red head said opening her eyes and looking at her dark haired sister,

"Yeah, me too." The brunette said.

"OK! Let's go!" The Blue Puff smiled.

"Right, but be careful. There could still be something waiting for us around here." The Pink Puff said in a serious tone.

"See! I told you that you never miss the chance to mom us!" the black headed girl commented.

"Sorry sis. But you have to admit that you need this. Not to mention, like this." The red head smiled. Buttercup was about to make a comeback, but her sisters' laugh stopped her. She smiled and began laughing too.

"Let's move! We have to get there as soon as possible." The pink eyed girl said as she began walking. The other two nodded and followed.

(**A/N:** God, I was so tempted to stop here. But I won't, 'cause I already did this with the other chapter.)

The new world they ended up in was very different from the other one. It was darker than the other one. The light was obscure, but it wasn't white anymore, it was a sinister shade of red. It really confused that the light was so dim, because the little floating flames which lit the place were very bright. It was like some kind of barrier had been placed two inches away from the fire to stop the light from getting through.

But even with that weak light, the girls could see that they were in a cave-like tunnel. Everything was very tall and it seemed very old... thousands of years since the last person stepped inside it. But still... it had the aura of a place that someone lives in. It seemed like it belonged to someone. This really scared the girls, because it was just a feeling and nothing inside the cave showed that it could be true. But the feeling wouldn't leave them and they thought that in any second some kind of demon, even scarier than the big spiders, would jump out of the shadows and begin attacking them.

No one attacked them. But the sensation was still there. Like there was someone watching them, getting ready for the right moment. They were all very tensed. Suddenly Blossom stopped on her tracks, without any explanation.

"What?" Buttercup asked, though she knew the answer. Now it wasn't just an impression... someone was there. They could feel him, whoever, or whatever he was. And he was going to attack.

They stood in silence for a few minutes. They didn't like the fact that they had to wait for whoever was there to make a move, without being able to anticipate anything. But they didn't have to wait for too long.

Out of nowhere a bright light appeared and a giant energy ball hit the girls, full force. The three Puffs were thrown into three different directions by the force of the attack.

"Ah! What was that?!" Bubbles said as she was getting up. The other two were already on their feet. They were staring in the direction where the attack came from.

They saw a man. He was very tall and looked really solid. He was wearing a complete medieval armor, with a dark blue cape on his back. He had a big sword in his hands that was disturbingly similar to a huge fang.

"Well, well, well, look who's paying a visit: three little girls." The man said in a mocking voice.

"Hey! Who are you calling little?" Buttercup screamed at the man.

"You!" the man said and before any of the girls could say or do something he hit the ground with his sword. The hard stone of the ground cracked and hot steam shoot out of it. It almost caught the girls in the "explosion".

"Ow!" Bubbles screamed as the hot steam touched her arm. "It burns!" she exclaimed to her sisters, who dodged some of the steam.

"Be careful girls! This guy could be a real problem!" Blossom told her sisters.

"Yeah! And I'm the solution!" Buttercup yelled. She charged at the tall man attempting to punch him. However, the man had anticipated the girl's move and he kicked her violently in the stomach when she got close enough. The brunette was thrown back a few feet and she crashed in one of the cave's walls.

"Buttercup! Are you OK?" Blossom asked while helping her sister up.

"Yeah. Nothing I can't handle." The brunette answered.

"We should stay close." The red head said.

"Why, girls... we're three against one here. Don't you have the guts?" the tall man said in the same mocking tone.

"Why you..." the blonde hissed and without thinking again she charged for the man. She tried to kick him in chest, but, again, the man anticipated her move and used an energy attack to send her flying next to the green eyed girl.

"OK, two against one. But it's still an advantage." He said, his eyes smiling, as the rest of his face was covered by his armor.

But this time the man wasn't able to anticipate everything. When the red head saw her sister charging for their new enemy she knew that she wouldn't be able to do much damage to him. So she charged right after her and not even a second after Bubbles was thrown backwards, she punched him in the stomach with the strongest hit she could manage. She expected him to be flying several feet back, but instead the man didn't move an inch. He didn't seem to have felt anything. A hoarse laugh escaped the man's chest.

"You thought you could hurt me little girl?" he asked as he caught her fist in his big hand. "You were wrong!" he said louder than it would've been needed, throwing her in the opposite wall. She fell near her sisters that were now glaring daggers at the tall man.

"Blossom!" the blonde almost yelled as her sister landed beside her, with her eyes closed.

"Are you OK Red?" the brunette asked helping the red head up.

"Yeah! But that guy's really tough." The pink eyed girl said.

"Good observation little girl." The man said in his mocking tone. "You see this armor can protect me from anything that you could ever throw at me. I'm invincible!" he let out a little laugh that filled the large cave for several seconds.

"We'll see about that!" Buttercup yelled at him. The girls used their combined force to create a big energy ball that they threw at the tall man. He didn't move out of the way and he kept laughing his little mocking laugh. In the last moment he raised his sword, using it as a shield. The energy ball was deflected by the big sword. It crashed in the ground, just a few feet away from the man. This caused the ground to violently shake and the tall man lost his balance for a moment. He restrained himself in the next second and he used his sword again to hit the ground and make the hot steam spring out of the hard rock.

Bubbles and Buttercup got out of the way immediately, but Blossom didn't move. She was staring at the tall man, her brain working fast. He had said the truth: they couldn't hurt him. But there might be another way to defeat him. And she could see it way clearly. She had watched what had happened very carefully.

The energy ball the girls threw at the man was very bright and she saw him closing his eyes as it approached. He probably felt its heat as it was getting closer and that was the way he knew when to deflect it. Then there was the way he lost his balance and the unnecessary force that he had used to hit the ground.

Her eyes flashed open and she was about to talk to her sisters when she heard Buttercup's voice.

"Get out of the way!" The Green Puff screamed. The red head didn't even have time to blink as her sister pushed her out of the way, just before another spurt was released.

"What were you thinking Red?" the brunette yelled at her sister. Blossom looked at her for a few seconds before she answered.

"I know how to beat that guy." She said.

"Uh, good excuse." The green eyed girl said a little confused by the tone the red head had used.

"What did you think of?" the blonde asked her sister.

"Well, it's kinda' hard to explain but I need you to attack him with the brightest energy blast that you can manage." The red head said looking at her sisters.

"The... brightest... energy blast?" Buttercup said shocked. "Bloss, if you didn't notice we just threw one of our strongest energy attacks at him and it didn't even touch him. How do you think the "brightest" one will work?"

"Yeah, Blossom, I don't understand." The blonde commented.

"You'll see. Just do it. But be careful to throw it at his upper side." The red head said.

"If you say so..." Buttercup said, in an I-give-up tone. The three girls turned to look at the tall man. He hadn't moved form the place he had been just a minute ago.

"So, you want more little girls." He said in his mocking voice.

"This guy really gets on my nerves!" the brunette Puff hissed as she and Bubbles were doing what the red head had told them. They threw a big bright energy ball at the man's head.

In almost the same second the Pink Puff charged for the tall man. She reached him before the energy ball did, but he already had his eyes closed so he couldn't see her. But she didn't attack him, like her sisters thought she would do when they saw her charging for him. She went between his legs and grabbed his long cape and pulled it. The man lost his balance and dropped his sword. The energy ball hit him in the face and he fell on the ground.

The Green ad Blue Puffs stared at the man that was now lying on his back on the hard ground. He was struggling to get up, but it seemed that his armor was too heavy.

"Wow Blossom! How did you get this idea?" the blonde asked while smiling.

"Well, I thought of it when I first saw his loose his balance: his armor is invincible, but it's also too heavy. He couldn't handle it properly." The red head explained.

"Good job Leader Girl! For a minute there I thought you were insane." The brunette laughed. Blossom smiled at her sister.

Suddenly, a loud scream filled the cave, making the girls' hearts skip a few beats.

"What was that?" the blonde asked in a weak voice.

"I don't know, but it came from that way!" the brunette said, pointing to one of the tunnels.

"Lets go!" the red head said, taking off in that direction, with her sisters behind her. They flew for several minutes, until they reached a strange shaped rock that looked like a door.

"I'll open it!" Buttercup said and she used her laser beams to destroy the big rock. Behind it, they saw a large room, very different from the cave that they had been in. And it was very familiar too.

It was the strange room where they usually found HIM, when they "paid him a visit". They looked around and almost screamed when they saw the demon.

HIM was lying on the floor with his mouth opened and his eyes wide, the expression of pure terror clearly visible in them. His body was in an unnatural position and parts of it had a dark color, like they had been burnt.

"What happened to him?" Buttercup whispered.

"I don't know..." the red head answered. Then she noticed another door. Light was reaching out of the cracks that the door had in it and a weird sound could be heard from there... like a scream coming from miles away. "But I don't think we can stick around to find out either." Blossom said pointing towards the door. "We don't have much time left."

The other girls nodded. The three girls walked towards the door, approaching their objective.

Behind them, HIM's body continued to slowly carbonize.

* * *

That's it for now…

I'm not very sure when the next chapter will be up, but I'll do my best to get it done soon.

See ya in Chapter 23!


	23. Deadly encounter

Hi everyone! Sorry for the long wait! I just had a lot on my mind lately. But anyway, here's Chapter 23. It's a little explanation on what happened to HIM. It's kinda' horror like, but I've been watching a lot of those lately, so I think it affects me. I hope you'll like it.

Thank you very much virginia, CamillaMB, Dennis Gerbera, Kelly, Kaitlyn Takaishi and DKN for your reviews! You're the best guys!

**Disclaimer:** The old one.

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 23: Deadly encounter

He slowly started to gain consciousness. The pain that had hit him before hadn't left yet, but now it was somehow easier to bear. He lay on his back with his eyes closed for several minutes. He was still breathing and he could still feel all the parts of his body. He gave a sigh of relief at this realization and opened his eyes.

He was met by an unexpected sight. He was lying on his back in some kind of forest. But it was something weird about it: it was like it was made of crystal. He blinked wondering why it looked so familiar.

He sat up with some difficulty due to the lasting pain. Looking around he noticed that the place showed signs of a recent battle. Some of the trees were brought down and there was a rather big hole in the ground, not too far from his current position.

He walked up to it to inspect it. It looked like someone had violently crashed in that spot. Looking closer he could distinguish the shape of a small body forming in the centre of the hole. It looked somehow familiar.

He racked his brain for the information, but it seemed that it refused to show itself. He growled in frustration and turned around, closing his eyes and kicking his foot into the air. However, to his surprise, his foot didn't go through thin air, but instead hit something hard. He let out a small yelp of pain and opened his eyes.

The sight that he was met by made him freeze on the spot. There, in front of him, looking like it had just appeared out of thin air, was a tall demon, held a few centimeters above the ground by a strange plant that was growing through his body. The demon was obviously dead, but the plant was certainly alive.

The plant consisted of black vines that were slowly moving through the lifeless body. They made a weird sound, somehow similar to the sound a snake would make as it travels through dead leafs. The demon's blood had long exited his body and some of it was still coloring some of the vines. The rest had been absorbed. The plant had a single blood red flower that blossomed on the left side of the demon's chest, exactly where the heart was supposed to be.

Golden eyes went wide with surprise and horror as he took in all these details. If he had been only a little scared when he woke up in this weird place now he was truly terrified. Not just of the sight in front of him, but of the fact that it had appeared out of thin air right behind him.

He couldn't look away form the mutilated form of the demon, but he felt that he couldn't stay there any longer. He took a few steps back, forgetting about the hole that was just a few feet behind him. He fell inside the crater, letting out a loud cry.

He felt himself hitting the hard ground. However, he felt his right side fall on something softer and rather wet. Remembering the dead demon he just left behind he rolled over and moved as far away from the strange form as the walls of the crater allowed him. Opening his eyes he was met by a sight as frightening as the first one.

On the ground, in front of him, lay the body of a young demon. He had blue eyes which were wide and were staring into his golden orbs. His mouth was slightly open and there was some blood running out of it.

But that wasn't nearly the worst thing. The boy had a big hole in his chest. It looked like that part of flesh had been blasted out. There were burn marks on the sides and the thick, red blood was running out the demon's body.

Judging by the pool of blood that had formed around the young, dead demon, the body had been there for quite a while. However, he fount that to be impossible since he had looked into the hole just moments ago. Something was not OK there, but he was too frightened to work it out.

He ran out of the crater as fast as his legs could carry him. He had the demon's blood on him. He tried to brush it off, but to no use. He heard something behind him, like someone was walking. He turned his head, but no one was following him.

His eyes were caught by the big demon's body. It looked like the plant was devouring him at great speed, sucking in every little part of his body. The demon's skin was practically melting, carbonizing and becoming the plant's meal. In the same time, red flowers, just like the one that he had seen moments ago, began to blossom.

Golden eyes went wide with fright. He wanted to turn back to look where he was running but in the process he noticed something else. The crater that he had just got out of was now slowly filling with crimson liquid. He gasped as he saw the body of the young demon float on its own blood, rising above the crater. It's blue, lifeless eyes were still fixed on him, but now the face had an expression of pain mixed with fury. As the blood rose higher the dead body was slowly pushed out of the crater and on the ground of the crystal forest.

The golden eyed demon let out a half scream and ran faster, turning his head from the gruesome scene. But because he was watching the young demon's body, he didn't notice where he was going so he bumped into something in front of him which was surprisingly soft. He fell on the ground and looked up to see what had he hit.

His heart stopped as his eyes lay on the decapitated body of another demon. The lifeless form was tided upside down, blood running out of his throat, pooling on the ground below him. The golden eyed demon crawled backwards not taking his eyes off the creature.

Nothing else of its body was damaged. It just missed its head. After a few seconds during which he had examined the dead body with horror in his eyes, his brain decided that he couldn't take it anymore. He turned around to run from the decapitated body, but what he saw made him stop.

The blood in the crater had brought the young demon's body out but it didn't just leave it lying on the cold ground, but it proceeded to move it on the same path the golden eyed demon had been running. As he continued to look he could see his footsteps on the ground as red as the blood that was carrying the lifeless body of the young one.

Turning his gaze back at the said demon, he noticed that it had gotten quite close to him. But what frightened him even worst was that now the body had its right hand extended towards him and the dead blue eyes were now filled not only with red liquid but with a wild, blind rage.

His mouth hung open as he took a few steps back, still watching the lifeless body getting closer. Suddenly his eye was caught by another detail. The dead demon was not the only one that was making its way on the path marked by his footsteps.

Black vines were slowly but surely approaching him, on the same route that the bloody figure was taking: following the path he had used just minutes ago to escape the two threats that were now gaining on him. Raising his head he saw that big demon was now just a little more that a burned skeleton.

But the body hadn't been totally devoured: its head was almost intact. It was turned towards him and its amber eyes stared into his golden orbs with a death grimace that made his blood go cold.

He turned to his right, trying to run away but suddenly he felt a firm hand grabbing his clawed one. He stopped dead on his tracks, scared to turn his head and see what had stopped him from advancing. He felt a steel grip encircle his wrist and knew that the hand which had grabbed him had claws, as he let out a cry of pain, when they dug into his red skin.

Gathering all the courage he could find he turned his head to see the one that was holding him. It was the headless demon. It had its hand extended with his fingers firmly circled around his wrist. However, unlike the other two demons the only change that his body's position suffered was its extended hand. Looking back he saw that the dead body of the young demon, as well as the black vines, was even closer to him.

He tried to escape from the decapitated demon's grip, but it was useless. The dead body had an unimaginable power. He tried again letting out a lout cry, but with the same result. He looked up at the sky and was surprised to see that the clear blue sky he had woken up to was now a deep shade of red. Looking around he noticed that the crystals that were forming the place had gained a dark color. The red sky gave the dark crystals a sinister glow.

The demon's eyes widened because it seemed like all those changes happened in just one moment. He felt fear taking control over him and, as the lifeless body of the young one approached him with his mouth opened and a horrible grimace on his face, he let out a blood curling scream. He began pulling, trying to release his hand, but it was like the grip was getting stronger and stronger with every attempt he made.

His efforts were interrupted by a voice.

"Enjoying yourself, Rasputin?" said the soft voice of a girl.

The demon startled when he heard his real name being spoken. No one had called him that in a long time. Lately, he had tried to hide his real name from the human world, as he was quite known for some of his old games in this world. The fact that he knew the human world was, in fact, the main reason why he had been sent on a mission in the place. But looking around he could clearly see that this was far from the human world he had known for almost 100 years now.

The voice of the girl echoed in his mind. It seemed familiar, too familiar. He racked his brain trying to remember where he had heard it before. Suddenly it hit him. It was the same girl voice that he heard before he woke up in this weird place.

He looked around trying to spot the owner of the voice. It wasn't very hard as she was standing just a few feet to his left. The girl wasn't very tall. She was wearing a black robe with a hood on her head, covering her eyes. He could see that she was thin. She also had skin as pale as fresh snow. The comparison was very appropriate as she was surrounded by such a cold aura that even an amateur could've felt it. He shivered.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice shaking a bit. She stood still for many seconds, not responding. In the silence he could hear the black vines moving closer. The same went with the dead demon's body. He began to panic.

"What is this place?" he asked again, looking at her. He didn't dare to look in the direction of the two threats that were rapidly approaching. Still, she stood silent. It was like she was waiting for something. He looked at her trying to distinguish something, anything, on the porcelain-like figure that wasn't covered by the black hood.

"Why am I here?" he tried again. This time the girl moved a little. He barely noticed it. He looked at her, waiting for her to say something. After a few more seconds of silence during which he was practically tortured by the horrible sounds coming from the two moving figures, she answered.

"You were in their way." She said so quietly that he barely heard her over the sinister hiss of the vines.

"In… their way…" he repeated confused. He didn't understand. "In whose way?" he said in a high pitched voice.

"Think." Came the answer, as calm as before. She didn't seem to be in any way disturbed by the two creatures that were getting closer and closer. He looked at her like she was insane. "Think?" he said in his mind "In such a situation?" he took a short glance to the threats that were gaining on them.

"What are those things?" he asked, but she didn't show any sign that she had heard his question. It was obvious that she didn't consider the two threats of any kind. Unfortunately he didn't have the same opinion.

"What's wrong with you? Those things will kill you too if they reach us!" he said exasperated. Just like before, she didn't move. She was just standing there looking like she had been doing it since the beginning of time. He took a step back, but found that he had to return as the headless demon's grip hadn't softened a bit.

He felt himself loosing his self-control, from both fright and anger. Fright because of the two creatures approaching and anger because of the girl that calmly stood there, like those things were something normal. He sighed in exasperation and thought of the last things that she had said: "You were in their way." "I was in whose fucking way?" he screamed in his head. An idea came in his mind and he shivered in fear.

"The Mistress sent you to kill me." He said. It was more a statement than a question. "But I was almost done! The pests were eliminated! And I'm sure that my army has already found the chosen one. It would've been the only one that they won't be able to kill. I did my job! There's no reason for you to kill me."

"Yes, there is." Came the emotionless answer.

"For what?" he asked his voice shaking so much that it was nearly impossible to distinguish what he had said.

"Because you were in their way." She said in the same voice. His eyes narrowed in frustration. He didn't understand. He was sure that he had done his job. And he knew that if he would've screwed up, Aketon, the one that had given him the crystal, would've personally killed him. He even told him this. Why would this girl come to punish him if he had, somehow, failed his mission? Unless…

"You don't work for the Mistress." Again it was spoken as a statement.

"No." she replied. This knowledge didn't calm him down. She said that she had reasons to kill him. And he doubted that it was only the reasons that she had.

"Why do you want to kill me?" he asked feeling his brain empty.

"Because you were in their way." Came the answer. The same answer as before. He clutched his free fist.

"I was in whose way?" he asked again.

"Think." Came the response. He was half expecting it. This girl wasn't going to tell him anything more. He looked at her, trying to get something, anything, out of her. It was impossible. It was like she was wearing a mask. He couldn't even see her chest rise and fall as she breathed. He growled in frustration. What was this girl talking about? In whose way had he been? Then it hit him.

"You work for the Power Puff Girls." It sounded almost stupid. How could someone work for the Power Puff Girls? They were just eight year olds… very annoying eight year olds that managed to ruin his plans more than a dozen times, not to mention stole his most precious weapons. He growled loudly remembering the boys' betrayal.

"I work for myself." Came the soft, yet cold voice of the hooded figure. He raised his head. It sounded almost like an objection. She wasn't working for them. Maybe he could convince her to give up the girls and release him. Looking at the two creatures that had closed more than half of the distance between them he thought that he should do it quickly. He turned to the girl that hadn't moved an inch since she appeared there.

"Look, if you get me out of here, I could give you more than you have ever dreamed." He said in his feminine voice.

"You have no idea what I dream about." She said, as cold as before.

"If you tell me, it could come true. You have no idea what I am capable of. You just have to get me out of here." He said trying to tempt her.

"Not too much as I can see." She answered his proposal.

"What-" he began, almost loosing his temper at her comment. He managed to calm down quickly and regained the little smile he had used just a minute ago. "Listen my dear… maybe I'm not powerful enough to release myself right now, but believe me; after the Mistress will find out that I have found the chosen one, she will grant me anything I wish. And if you help me, I will use my new influence so you will have your payment." He said keeping his smile on his lips.

"Judging by how much you made her wait, you will be lucky if she granted you the right to live on. That if, of course you've actually found the chosen one." The girl said. The demon thought that it was the longest phrase he had heard coming out of her mouth. But his attention was brought back by the last part of her little speech.

"What do you mean 'if I've actually found the chosen one'? I did!" he almost screamed.

"No, you did not." came the response. The girl was undisturbed by the demon's tone. It was like she was made out of stone.

"What!?" the demon yelled this time. "Of course I did! My army was supposed to be able to kill anyone that wasn't the chosen one. By now they have already finished the Power Puff pests and those Rowdy Ruff traitors.

"I have to inform you that the chosen one has not even seen your army; the Power Puffs that your demons have destroyed were only robots and the real Power Puffs are proceeding towards the centre of your lair to destroy the source of your power and the Rowdy Ruff Boys are perfectly alive, keeping your army busy for the girls." By the time she was done speaking, the demon's eyes were wider than ever and his mouth was slightly open in confusion and terror.

"That's impossible." He barely whispered.

"No it is not. In fact it is very possible, as it is happening in this very moment." At the sight of his pure look of terror her face made the first visible change since she had appeared: her pale, full lips curved into a small, but even so, noticeable smirk.

He stared at her. All the information had left him dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His plan had been perfect! It couldn't have failed. And here comes this weird girl, in the scariest place he had ever seen, telling him that he had screwed it. No! It couldn't be true. She was joking, right? She was just playing with him. She was trying to scare him. That's it. She was just playing. Nothing more. He tried to calm himself down, but he wasn't getting any noticeable results. He was still agitated. He kept telling himself that it was all a sick game.

"It is no game, nor lie." Her cold voice broke into his thoughts. He looked up at her confused and rather scared. "You failed to finish your mission, Rasputin." He winched at the use of his real name. He had gotten used to being called 'HIM'.

"But I am not punishing you for your failure. In fact I am quite pleased that you have failed." She said keeping her smirk on her lips, though now it was less noticeable. Her face was regaining the aspect of a porcelain mask.

"Then for what?" he asked, his voice less than a whisper.

"Because you were in their way." Came the clod response, her face back to her expressionless state.

The demon felt himself boiling at the sound of the answer that he had been given so many times before. He opened his mouth to scream at her, but suddenly felt something gripping his free hand. He turned his head to see that it was the dead body of the young demon that had grabbed his hand and was now pulling him closer. The golden eyed demon felt the black vines gripping his legs and slowly entering his body.

He screamed in fear and agony as the black vines penetrated his body and the young demon's still strong fangs dug into his chest, ripping his flesh off.

The hooded girl watched undisturbed as the shadow demon was devoured by the ones that had been her victims only hours ago.

"I forgot how delightful this kind of things can be." A voice came from behind.

"And why is that my dear Nishio?" the girl asked as she took off her hood. The watery woman smiled.

"Peace." Came her answer.

"It has never been an obstacle before." The white haired girl commented.

"My age." The woman spoke, more to herself than to anyone else.

"It never stopped you before." Said the girl.

"I was younger before." The woman said with a little smile on her lips.

"Age does not bring weakness." The purple eyed girl spoke wisely.

"But it does bring laziness." The woman let out a laugh. The girl smiled too as she walked towards the little river and looked in it.

"Are you sure about this child?" the watery figure asked suddenly serious. "I think you should give it more thought."

"I'm out of school, Nishio. And I've grown up. I know what I'm doing." The white haired girl said as she watched the three girls enter the chamber where the crystal was held. Turning to her friend she said, in a confident tone:

"Trust me. I won't make anymore mistakes."

The woman watched the girl with old, wise eyes, but did not say anything else. They wouldn't be able to change anything now even if they wanted to.

* * *

That's it! You know what happened to HIM. Sorry if was too much horror, but I'm kinda' addicted.

I promise I'll post the next chapter sooner.

See ya' in Chapter 24!


	24. Gone

Ah! I broke my promise! DAMN! I'm so sorry guys!

After a freaking long time, so long that you were probably wondering if I was still alive or if someone killed me, I finally updated! Now aren't you happy? Either that or you want to kill me for making you guys wait for like half a year.

It's really hard to explain why the Hell it took me so long since more than half of the time I had the whole idea for the chapter in my head, but every time I got to the computer to write it down my mind would just go blank. The words just refused to come. It was like I was trying to write French! No offence to the French speaking people out there, but I just can't understand this language.

Now, I'd like to thank CamillaMB, The Nimian Flyer, Kaitlyn Takaishi, Teh Red Mage, WolfKeeper989, DKN, Feisha, The Anime Wolf and UndyingGalmour for the great reviews. I hope you haven't given up hope that I'd update again!

**Disclaimer:** Sad isn't it?

On with the chapter! Enjoy!

* * *

**On the right side**

Chapter 24: Gone

The door opened with a loud sharp sound, as if it was the first time in years that it revealed its secrets. When it was, finally, fully opened the girls had to close their eyes at the brightness that suddenly came out of the door. The light grew weaker as the sound of someone struggling to breathe grew stronger.

Opening their eyes the girls looked around the room. There was no one else there… no one else that could be breathing. But the sound was still piercing their ears and sharp screams could be heard every now and then.

Looking up they saw a huge lightning ball that was giving off a sinister light. It wasn't too bright so the girls could see through it. In the middle of the ball there was a black object. Apparently, it was the power source.

"Is that it?" Bubbles asked looking at the object that was floating some fifty feet above them.

"It's gotta' be." Buttercup answered, studying the black gem.

"We should get going then." Blossom said, frowning a little.

They flew up, but almost instantly Buttercup fell back down with a loud cry.

"Buttercup! What's wrong?" Bubbles screamed, flying towards her sister. The brunette had her eyes closed and was clutching her arm.

"What happened?" the red head asked as she came next to her sisters.

"I don't know." The Green Puff said. "When I flew up something touched me. And it felt like fire." She said, still holding her arm.

"Does it hurt?" the blonde asked. Her brunette sister shot her a dangerous look, but then her eyes softened. She knew her sister was just worried about her and she needn't be mad at her.

"Yeah!" Buttercup said in a low voice.

"Let me see!" Blossom said in a half worried half demanding tone. The brunette did as she was told. She reached her aching arm to her sister. Inspecting it, Blossom saw that it wasn't burned, but it just had a weird, grayish mark on it which was, apparently, already fading.

The red head looked around and noticed the many shadows that were floating around the room for the first time. Rising to her feet, the Pink Puff approached one of them. It was just floating there, like most of the others. Getting closer she understood where that breathing sound was coming from. Even though they weren't actually breathing, they were the ones making the sinister sound. She slowly reached for it.

A sharp scream made her jump as the shadowy figure suddenly moved towards her with incredible speed. The girl barely had time to move out of the way when the shadow passed her and stopped just a few feet away. It turned around and remained immobile.

"Blossom! What are you doing!?" the brunette asked in disbelief.

"We have to stay away from those things!" the red head said ignoring her sister's comment. "They burn."

"Yeah! I felt it. But it doesn't hurt anymore." Buttercup answered showing her arm.

"Hey! The mark is gone!" Bubbles said taking her eyes off the shadow that attacked Blossom just a few moments ago and that was now floating lightly in the air, just like the others.

"Yeah! It looks like the pain doesn't last too much." The brunette said looking at her arm that had been hurting like Hell just minutes ago.

"Even so, we just can't keep falling to the ground whenever we touch these things. And if more of them attack us I doubt the pain will go away so easily. I think this was just a warning, to stay away from the crystal." Blossom explained looking from the glowing ball to the shadows and then to her sisters.

"If only there was a way to get rid of them…" Bubbles whispered while staring at the dark figures closer to the crystal. Those, as the girls noticed, weren't as immobile as the others. Once every few moments they moved with incredible speed from one place to another. However, they never got lower or higher than the level they already were at. It was like they were there to protect the crystal.

"Great! Now what do we do?" the brunette asked throwing her hands up in frustration.

"Well, it's obvious we're not going to go right through them and by the looks of it evading them is pretty much impossible." The red head said staring at the shadows surrounding the crystal.

"HIM was ready for this." Bubbles whispered, turning her eyes to the shadow that had attacked Blossom. It was in the exact position that it had been when she last looked at it.

"I doubt." The Pink Puff whispered.

"What?" the Green Puff said a little surprised. "Blossom, if he wasn't expecting someone to find this room, why do you think he'd set up this kind of thing?" the brunette said motioning towards the floating figures.

"No! Listen guys, if HIM had the power to do this and he was expecting someone to come after him here, he would've gotten something a lot harder at the entrance and in the first rooms. Hell! He would've practically blocked this whole place. We all know he doesn't like surprises. Back there, it was HIM's work. What's here was made by someone stronger and a lot smarter." The girl said.

"And who could that be?" Bubbles asked her sister. Blossom pointed up. The other two looked up to see that the red head was pointing towards the crystal.

"That's crazy! It's just an object. It can't think!" Buttercup said, frustrated.

"Why not? If it can feel then it most certainly can think. And protect itself." The red head argued. The brunette opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Blossom was right. There was no reason why the damn thing couldn't think too. Even so, the Green Puff was outraged at the thought that some object had gotten the better of her. She was tempted to yell at her sister: "We don't know that! That's just what you say!". But she managed to control herself. She knew it was wrong to fight with her sister, especially in a time like this. That and she had learned to trust the red head's instincts. She didn't know how, but the girl always managed to figure everything out. Sometimes it annoyed her to no end that her sister was such a know-it-all. But one of them had to do that too. She wasn't about to make the sacrifice and she could never imagine Bubbles playing that part. The girl's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a hand waving in front of her and someone calling her name.

"Buttercup? Buttercup?" ringed Bubbles' voice.

"What?" the Brunette snapped out of her trance.

"You zoomed out." The red head explained, looking at her with worried eyes.

"Oh…" the girl said staring at her sister. "Why does she always have to worry?" the brunette asked herself.

With another worried look directed to her brunette sister the red head sighed. "I was saying that it's not just me thinking that the thing can feel and think for itself. It's what the facts say. And, like it or not, that's all that we have.

The green eyed girl looked at her leader with an impassive face. For a moment she forgot what they were talking about. But then reality hit her as well as the truth in Blossom's words. The thoughts of arguing with her, which had been forming in her mind, instantly disappeared.

"So what do we do now?". The blonde's sweet voice made her sister turn to her.

Resting her head on her hands the Pink Puff looked up at the black jewel that seemed to be the cause of all their recent problems. All she could see in the black gem was the deepness of the White Demon's black eyes, against snow white skin. With a soft sigh, Blossom whispered: "I don't know". Just looking at it made her head spin.

Bubbles sighed and looked down at her feet, trying to remember something that might help them. She ended up rememorizing the events of the past days, her mind lingering on the scene when the boys left. She wondered how they were doing and hoped, with all her soul, that they were having more luck than them.

Buttercup's eyes remained on her red headed sister for a few more seconds. She was looking at the dark crystal like it held all the answers to their problems. The brunette followed her example. It got her no where. She still had a hard time accepting the idea that the thing might be looking back at her and have some kind of opinion about her. She frowned at it and stuck her tongue at it. "Think that through." She smirked in her head, even though a little part of her mind told her that she was just fooling around and what she was doing wouldn't change a thing. She threw it a dirty look and turned away.

Now she fixed her eyes on the floating ghosts. To her, they seemed a lot more real than what had, apparently, created them. She started counting them. There were ten that were standing still. When she got to counting the moving ones she realized it was impossible. They were moving so fast she could barely see them when they changed position. She managed to count fifteen but then realized she missed some and counted some twice. Frustrated she fixed her gaze on only one of the ghosts, following each of its moves with her eyes. It was three feet below the dark gem and was moving every ten seconds.

A few minutes went by like this, in the sound of the constant hard breathing of the floating creatures and the occasional screams that they were letting out. Buttercup was trying hard not to loose her ghost since it was so similar to the others. She was vaguely hearing the sounds made by the other figures, but since her attention was fully on the one she had chosen, they weren't very clear. However, she could clearly hear the hard breaths of the creature she was watching. It seemed different from the others. It was sharp, like it belonged to a young girl but it was also deep… too deep to belong to someone young. She frowned. Her ghost hadn't screamed yet.

A few seconds later, after the figure had changed its position and the girl almost lost its track, it bent its body, like a human being would do if it wanted to look down. For just one moment the Green Puff was sure that the creature was looking at her. Then, without any warning the ghost moved again, this time towards the wall of the circular room. For a second Buttercup thought that it will go through the wall and out the chamber, but in the next moment her thoughts were interrupted by a blood curling scream that she knew, in an instant, belonged to the creature she had been watching. She had less than a second to see the figure jolt back from the wall, which it hadn't reached.

"Hey!" her voice seemed strange as it escaped her mouth.

"What is it?" the red head asked turning her eyes from the black gem to her brunette sister.

At first the green eyed girl didn't answer. She scanned the room until she found the ghost she had been watching. It now had a darker mark on one side. As the brunette watched the now unmoving figure the mark faded and then the creature moved again, this time staying away from the wall.

"Buttercup?" she heard her blonde sister's voice calling her.

"The ghosts…" she whispered then trailed off.

"What's with the ghosts?" the blonde asked looking at the ceiling, unsuccessfully trying to see anything that she didn't notice at first sight. "I don't see anything different." She said a little disappointed after a few moments of watching the upper parts of the room.

Unlike her sister, Blossom managed to get the hint as she followed the Green Puff's look and she managed to see what had surprised her brunette sister. One of the ghosts charged for the wall of the chamber but immediately jolted back like something burned it and it let out one of the screams that she had somehow grown to ignore in the last minutes. Only now, when looking at the dark figure, it sounded louder, sharper, and it almost made her feel the pain of the creature.

"They can't get close to the walls." She whispered. Looking at the figures closely she noticed that there was at least a three feet distance between the ghosts and the wall when the creatures jumped back screaming; which was more than enough for the three of them to get up to the crystal without getting too close to the dark figures.

"So all we have to do is to stay close to the walls." Bubbles said smiling.

"Oh yeah! Let's go finish this!" the brunette smirked, feeling confident after discovering a weakness in the damn thing's defense.

"OK" The Pink Puff said still looking around at the floating creatures. "We should climb a little higher than the crystal, so when we get going we can hit it full force."

"Let's go!" the other two puffs said and went towards the wall, doing their best to avoid getting close to any of the ghosts. However, this job seemed too hard for the girls, since when they were only five feet away from the center of the room, where they were previously sitting, three of the ghosts attacked them.

The three sisters hardly had time to register what was happening before a burning sensation filled their bodies and made them scream in pain. They struggled to get away from their attackers but they only seemed to make the pain grow. Between their screams, they heard a sharp scream that wasn't coming from neither of them, but it covered theirs for just a split second before they all felt their bodies hit the ground.

None of them moved or spoke for a few minutes. The breathing sound took over the large room once again, as the crystal's sinister light towered over the bodies of the three girls. The three were curled up in balls with their eyes tightly shut and their hands over their ears.

It hurt. Damn, it hurt so bad! It burned. But it didn't burn the skin. It burned deep down inside. It burned the heart. It burned the lungs. It burned the brain. It felt like it burned the soul too. And there was that scream too. That blood curling scream that lingered in their ears like it was real. As they tried to block it out it became stronger, sharper. Pain… and fear… and despair. That was what that scream held within. And all that seemed to be transferred to them. In one last attempt to silence it, they screamed. They screamed along with it, letting out all that was on their hearts, voices merging until it was one.

Then, all of a sudden the scream stopped. They stopped as well. The pain began to fade. Slowly the girls removed their hands form their ears and opened their eyes. They were met by the, now familiar, image of the large circular chamber that housed the source of all their recent troubles.

Buttercup was the first to recover from the curled position. She glared at the floating figures and at the dark gem. Then she looked at her sisters. They too, had stared to move.

"You OK, guys?" she asked though she knew the answer. It still hurt, but compared to what they had just been through it was nothing. Her sisters nodded, Bubbles turning to her while still holding her middle and Blossom managing a sitting position, but staring blankly at the jewel above them.

"Any ideas?" the brunette asked again. At this the blonde looked away. The red head didn't move.

"You ok Red?" the Green Puff asked surprised by her overly concerned tone. She had been sitting around Blossom for way too much time.

The Pink Puff remained silent for a few more seconds before answering. "No… I'm confused." She said in what was just a little above a whisper.

"About what?" the blonde asked, now curious.

"We were going for the crystal. No doubt those things knew it. But they left us in the same place we started. They didn't throw us out or caused any major injury that might stop us from trying again. It's like they want us to do it…" The Pink Puff trailed off as she turned to her sisters. They were staring at her like she had grown a second head.

"Wait a second! Are you telling us that they're giving us the chance to get the thing they're supposed to protect?" the brunette asked almost exasperated. "This makes no sense!"

"Blossom?" the Blue Puff whispered as silence threatened to take over once again.

"I think they're playing with us. They're the cat, we're the mouse. They're giving us a little freedom and then they take it back." The red head said in a small voice. "And look there, on the walls!" she continued. Her sisters followed her gaze and looked where she was pointing.

"What?" The brunette asked looking a little confused.

"That red stuff on the walls." The red head said.

"What's with it?" the blonde asked, not really understanding what her sister was telling her.

Blossom sighed. "Look here." She said and she pointed to the floor. There, on the concrete, was a red circle made with the same substance that they noticed on the walls.

"What…?" the brunette started.

"These things seem to be afraid of the stuff." Blossom said while frowning. "It's a game, girls. That thing is playing with us." She said looking up to the crystal. "Those creatures can't get near this red stuff so it's used to block them from certain spots. Like this place. Every time they attack, they don't throw us out so we can escape; they throw us back here so we won't be able to get away… so they can continue playing with us. And then there are the walls too. They were made as some kind of bait, to make us leave the safe place and give the ghosts the chance to attack us. That thing wasn't made so someone could reach the crystal; it was made as a trap. If we leave this place its protectors get us. And even if, somehow we manage to avoid the ones that stay still there are still those up there that are moving and aren't so easy to avoid. And if we want to reach the crystal we have to pass them. And I doubt they're going to let us."

Her gaze fell on her sisters. They didn't hold it. Bubbles looked down, playing with her hands in her lap. Buttercup looked up at the dark gem. A moment later green eyes fluttered wide.

"Buttercup?" the red head said in a worried tone. But the brunette didn't seem to notice since in that second she shouted a "NO!" and flew in the air. Not a moment passed before two of the floating figures charged for her. The Green Puff screamed in pain as the other two shouted her name.

Everything was over in a few seconds. The brunette's body was thrown back on the ground. "Buttercup!" her sisters screamed as they dashed to the green eyed girl.

The Pink Puff hugged her sister's body and placed her head in her lap. Bubbles was close by and had a few tears in her eyes.

"God damn it, Buttercup! What were you thinking? Why did you do that?" the red head almost shouted at her sister, with the tone of a mother lecturing her child. The brunette barely heard her. She was slowly opening her eyes, with an empty look on her face that was changing into a look of terror, as the world around her become clearer.

Both the Pink and Blue Puffs looked at her with a concerned expression on their faces. The Green Puff's mouth opened but no sound came out.

"Buttercup?" Bubbles whispered, her eyes flooding with tears. As a response, the brunette lifted her arm and pointed up, to the ceiling. The other two looked up and froze in place.

The dull light surrounding the crystal was acting as a screen as it showed them something they would've wished to never see. There, in the foggy light, was the image of the fight that was going on outside. And it didn't look too good for the boys.

Brick was surrounded by five hideous creatures. He had an ugly cut on his forehead and his leg seemed to hurt. Boomer was fighting one of the creatures, but he seemed to be in much better shape than his brother, even though his shirt had been totally ripped off and he had a large bruise on his left arm and a few burn marks on his chest. Butch was in the worst situation of all three. He was bruised all over his, now bare, arms, he had a large gash on his side and he seemed to have trouble keeping his balance which wasn't good news for him since two of the creatures were approaching him and they didn't look friendly at all.

"Oh my God!" The red head whispered while holding her sister tight. The blonde opened her mouth but nothing came out. She moved backwards, with a look of pure terror on her face and with her hands covering her mouth.

The blonde wasn't aware of the distance she managed to put between herself and the only place that they were safe from the dark figures until she heard the sharp scream that she had come to recognize, these last minutes, as their attack signal. Her eyes opened wide and her moth dropped a little. She remembered what that meant: the pain… she remembered the pain so well that she could almost feel it. And then there was that scream… God, how it scared her. She was so afraid that she felt herself trembling.

The blonde closed her eyes tightly and hugged her own body with her arms. Through the sharp screams of the dark creature that was quickly approaching she heard her sister calling her name. Suddenly the world around her began to fade as something came to her mind. It was an image of Blossom comforting her in the middle of the night after she had had a nightmare. Her sister always hugged her when she was scared or sad. She relaxed as she let herself be embraced by the vision.

However, her peace didn't last as she was brutally dragged back to reality by a loud scream. Her eyes shot open in fear. The first thing she saw was her red haired sister running towards her with her arms open and a look of fear on her face. She could feel the burning sensation. Without even thinking, the blue eyed girl dashed into her sister's arms as fast as she could, knocking both of them on the floor. Her arms went around Blossom's chest and she held her tight, while hot tears made their way down her cheeks.

The blonde felt her sister hug her back. A moment later the Green Puff was there too, holding her tightly. They stayed like that for several minutes, forgetting, just for a few minutes, about the whole world, with everything it had in store for them and, just for those minutes, they were one in thought, in feeling, in sorrow and in happiness and all the pain caused by the dark crystal was, if only for those short minutes, no more.

They let go, eventually, when the Blue Puff's sobs stopped.

"Are you all right Bubbles?" the red head asked concerned scanning her sister's face for any hints that she was in some kind of pain.

"Yeah. I'm OK now." The blonde smiled. "Thanks guys!"

"No problem." Buttercup smiled at her. "But what happened there?" she asked.

"Where?" the blue eyed girl asked, a little confused.

"One of those things was charging for you and then it just jumped back, like they do when they get too close to the walls." The pink eyed girl explained, looking at her sister, waiting for an answer.

"I… I don't know…" the blonde whispered, trying to process the information she just received. "I… I was scared… when I saw the guys and then I heard one of those thing screaming and… and I knew it was going to attack me… and… and I got even more scared and then… then I remembered that when I was scared you used to hold me… and then I heard it scream again… and then I saw you there and I ran to you." The Blue Puff said, shaking and looking at her red headed sister for some kind of approval. Both her sisters were looking at her with slightly confused looks on their faces.

"Of course…" the Pink Puff whispered after a few moments of awkward silence.

"What?" The others asked, now curious.

"That crystal made those things. That means they have the same weakness the crystal does: they can't stand good. Every time we went out of this circle we were either scared or furious or desperate. That's why they could attack us. But when Bubbles went out there and she thought of comfort and how good it feels when someone's there for you, those things got scared and ran away." Blossom explained. The other two were silent for a moment.

"You know…" Buttercup started. "… this is so weird that it might just work."

"You with me?" the red head asked, reaching her hand out.

"Sure!" The blonde smiled and placed her hand on the red head's hand.

"Aren't we always?" the brunette said as she did the same thing as her sister.

"Come on girls! Let's save the world…" the Pink Puff said.

"… again." The other two completed.

Somewhere else…

The three boys were all thrown into each other with such force that they collapsed on the ground.

"Guys…" Butch said in a husky voice "… I don't know if I can keep this up much longer." He finished, clutching his side, where he had a deep gash that was still heavily bleeding.

"Look who's talking. When did you get that?" Boomer asked, pointing to his still bleeding wound.

"Some time ago." Then the black haired boy smirked to hide his pain. "I saw the one coming from the back, but I forgot the one I had in front."

"Dude, we're in deep shit. I hope the girls won't take much longer or we're toast." Brick let out, while looking around. The demons were regrouping.

"Damn! Were there so many when we first got here?" Boomer said exasperated. They had been fighting the damn things for around three hours or more now and they didn't seem to have made any progress at all.

"Shit!" the Blue and Green Ruffs heard their leader curse. They didn't have to ask what was wrong, because it was right in front of them. The demons were forming little groups, like they did before, apparently with the same intention.

"Guys… they're doing it again." Boomer said, not bothering to hide the fact that he was scared. The "already strong enough" demons, as Butch named them, were once again merging their bodies to become one bigger and a hell of a lot stronger being.

"This sucks!" Butch cursed as the three boys watched their enemies become even stronger than before. Two minutes passed and all the demons had transformed, but surprisingly, and most unfortunate for the ruffs, their number didn't seem to decrease.

"Get ready guys!" Brick said getting into attack position. "This is going to be one bumpy ride!" his brothers followed his example and got into fighting position, but it was rather hard for Butch with his open wound. "Butch, you should stay in the back." Brick commanded.

"But…" the brunette started, but his brother cut him off.

"I'd much rather all of us alive when the girls get to that damn crystal." The red head scrolled at his brother, making him swallow all the other comebacks he had in store.

A moment after, all the creatures charged for them and the boys prepared for the worst. But just as the demons were about to attack, a bright light appeared and an explosion could be heard along with a loud sharp scream. The next thing they knew was that they were thrown back several yards by the force of the explosion.

It took the boys quite a while to get back on their feet. As they did, they noticed that all the demons were gone.

"OK… that was… pure… luck!" Boomer breathed out.

"You can say that again." His green eyed brother said, smiling at the now empty area.

"We should go find the girls." The red head said.

"Sure!" the blonde answered.

"Let's move!" the brunette said while getting up. Bad move. He fell right back clutching his side. "Damn! I forgot about this!" he cursed.

"How can you forget about something like that?" his brother and leader asked exasperated, while helping him up and supporting him so he wouldn't fall again.

"Come on guys!" Boomer said. He was already in the air.

They took off. Butch was constantly complaining about the fact that Brick was still supporting him. Once, completely exasperated by his brother's racket, the red head let him go, but caught him right away when he stared falling. The brunette had opened him mouth to say an excuse but the look he received from his leader silenced him.

When they finally reached the place where HIM's layer had once bee they were met by an even worse sight than the city had offered. The place was nothing more than a hole in the ground. A **really** big hole in the ground. But what worried them was that the girls were nowhere in sight.

"Guys… I have a bad feeling about this." Boomer said in a worried tone.

"They're around here!" Brick said, more to convince himself than him brothers.

"Girls! Hey! Buttercup! Bubbles! Blossom!" Butch yelled at the top of his lungs. "GOD DAMN! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"

"Hey! Look!" Boomer pointed at to bottom of the hole that had been the hideout of Townsville's most feared villain. The boys landed and looked at what had caught the blonde's attention.

There, in the dust, were a half burned red bow, a ripped piece of green material and some blonde hairs. The Rowdy Ruff Boys didn't move and for several minutes they were silent.

"Oh my God…" Brick's whisper was the only sound that broke the grave-like silence. Once he spoke the words the three boys fell on their knees as realization struck them like lighting.

They were gone…

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Ok, I know it wasn't worth the long wait, but that was it… Chapter 24. I hope you liked it! And sorry for any grammar mistakes.

See you next in the next Chapter!


	25. Aftermath

Believe it or not… I'm alive… I think…

*Gets hit in the head with heavy object* Yes, I deserved that. *Gets assaulted by many heavy objects* OK… you can stop now. *People with heavy objects walk away*

I really don't know how to explain the absence… But this time, I want to stay. I really want to stay. I just hope you don't hate me too much for such a long wait… :-s I know I have absolutely no excuse for it. 

I spent the last two days editing this story. No, you don't have to go back and read it again. I haven't changed anything in the plot. I just mended some of my really bad grammar and changed some of the really cheesy scenes. Nothing drastic… The only thing that you should know is that I decided to make them 8 years old. All the people who said they should be older really had a point. I was watching the show not long ago and it hit me that they actually had a lot of adventures which just couldn't have happened during one year. Heck, they even had a birthday party… But I decided not to make them too old, 'cause in the story I really stressed on how little time passed since HIM brought the boys back and the events in my story. So I thought 8 was old enough…

Thank you CazBM, shadowedstar213, PrinceofDestruction, brightshadow4494, simi838 and HOTZIEgurl for your reviews. I love you guys! To be honest, your reviews were what made me think that, maybe, it would be worth trying to make a little comeback after all this time, that it wouldn't go totally unnoticed. This chapter is dedicated to all of you guys. You're the best!

Special thanks to my cousin, Irina. Thank you for all your support girl! I couldn't have done it without you!

**Disclaimer:** I know it has been long, but there is one thing that hasn't changed: I still don't own 'em. Sad… isn't it?

Nothing spectacular, but here it is… Chapter 25. I hope you enjoy it.

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**On the right side**

Chapter 25: Aftermath

Such a wondrous thing… a catastrophe. If not for the terrible, yet always glorious moments when it is unfolding, then at least for the inevitable miracle that follows.

Have you ever seen the site of a volcanic eruption? After the mountain has released its wrath on the land below, after the earth was burnt by the flowing river of fire and then covered with layers of dust and rock, after the air was poisoned by the gases which were once held beneath the surface. What is left after all that? A devastated place which will bring tears to tender hearts and discourage even the most optimistic.

But even so, the old saying keeps ringing in our ears, like a broken disc that just won't stop playing: "Hope is the last to die". And indeed hope survives. Through the thick layers of despair it springs out as soon as the threat is no more. And life raises its head along with it. It is quite touching to watch a once destroyed landscape come back to life. As plants and animals take their old place in the revived environment, we can not help but be amazed by Nature and its unique resourcefulness. And humans, being a part of Nature should also have this special quality. They may very well have it, but they also posses another one that almost nullifies the other. Because as Nature moves forward and wordlessly reaches for the new chance brought by the rising sun, man stays behind, looking back, and mourning what has happened, reaching for those who are no more and hoping for that which shall never come back.

And so, for those who have survived the massacre, for those that have been spared by the claws of death and are now coming out of the safety of their hiding places, for those few, the sun that is spreading its light over the scenery below holds little interest compared to the darkness that rests on the ground. No pair of eyes lingers more than a few seconds on the brightness of the sky, because, for some reason, Dark is always so much more appealing than Light. No thoughts turn to Future because Past is so much closer and Present is so much easier to touch.

As the sun follows its daily course, the survivors of the great fight, encouraged by the promise of a new day, exit their hiding places. And, as Light chased away the remains of the cold night, the citizens of Townsville found themselves surrounded by ruins and corpses. And, following man's instinctive habit, they search for those they know to be gone, they mourn those who are dead and they cling to those that are never coming back.

A young woman's cry echoes through the ruined buildings as she falls to her knees before a dead body which, only a day before, had been alive and had kissed her good night, after he had walked her home.

Not far away, a group of people are trying to move the rubble that had once been a building and other pained screams fill the air as, one after another, the bodies are uncovered.

Somewhere in the center of the town, in a building that was still somehow standing, a small man emerges from a pile of trash that has served as a shelter for his old body. He is clutching a black hat in his hands like it was the only thing that had kept him alive until that moment. He struggles to move out of the rubbish. His left leg is broken and bleeding and he has a pretty serious wound on his back. A sharp gasp escapes his dry throat as his eyes land on the body that is lying on the floor of what had once been his office. He stumbles towards his ex-assistant, falling to the ground twice. When he reaches her body, he's already hysteric. The once nr 1 beauty of Townsville is now only a mutilated corpse. The right arm has been almost torn from her shoulder, and her body is severely burnt. Her curly red hair has been reduced to a pile of dust, and the features that had been hidden behind it are no more, as the skin was burnt to the bone. The Mayor broke down beside the body of the woman who had supported him through all those years and, in the end, had died saving his life.

In another part of the town, two greenish eyes open to the sound of crying and shouting. He can't see anything but darkness. However, he can hear things being moved around and people's voices. He closes his eyes, cursing his decision to leave his lair, even though he did need materials to repair it, since the attack of a strange demon had destroyed a good part of his observatory. He opens his eyes again, feeling something move very close to his face. He saw that it had been a large piece of wall, which had been covering him only a few seconds before. He saw people trying to move the rest of the rubble. Someone was calling his name and he tried to turn to the voice. He found that he couldn't. His eyes widen as he realizes that he can't move any part of his body, even though most of the objects covering it had been removed. In fact, he can't even feel his body. He can't feel anything bellow his chin. He felt a wave of panic flush over him and he opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. A man grabs him and pulls him out. In the man's arms, he has a better view of his own body. He opens his mouth to scream again when he sees that the lower part of his right leg had been cut off and was now bleeding. But just like last time, no sound passes his lips. He continues to study himself and isn't less frightened to see that most of his torso had been burnt and the skin had a strange appearance, like it had been melted and then cooled back. There were pieces of material from his clothes and even some small rocks which appeared to have merged with his skin. Moving his eyes to the side he can see that the bone of his left arm is broken and is sticking out of his skin. He can't see anything more, as the man placed him down. His brain is undamaged, as far as he can tell. He can still feel his protecting helmet on and he thanked God he had decided to make it harder to break, after so many times that the three super-powered girls had smashed it. But even with this positive fact, he can not stop the liquid overflowing his eyes as he slowly returns to a thought that is now turning into a fact: he is paralyzed. And he can not help but let the salty rivers escape his eyes as the possibility of it being permanent starts to look more and more like a reality.

The outskirts of the town had not been too affected by the battle that had taken place. The demons had been held back and never got the chance to cross to the more peaceful suburban area. Now the people, knowing the threat had disappeared, are rushing to the city to help the survivors or to look for their beloved who had been in town at the time of the attack.

But there are a few people who do not go to town. And those few are in a white house which everyone knows as the Utonium residence. The three super-powered boys, known as the Rowdy Ruff Boys, had arrived there some time ago and not in the best of shapes. The three of them had spent almost two hors looking for anything which could indicate that their counterparts were still alive. Even if, in the back of their minds, they had known, ever since they had found those clues down in the crater where HIM's lair used to be, that the three girls were no more, they continued to search for them.

"Hope is the last to die".

And what they did was hope; hope that the Power Puff Girls had survived. They had searched the entire area, the forest and even went back to town. But it was all to no avail. They couldn't find anything. Nevertheless, seeing people walking the streets of the city and others being saved from the ruins made them hope that maybe, just maybe, they'd be able to find the girls too.

But after two hours of search, reason won and they had to accept the fact that they were gone. Plus, the wounds they got from the battle made it hard for them to even move, not to mention fly around.

Butch was the worst of the three. The gash he got on his side was very deep and the improvised bandage they made was not helping the bleeding too much. Brick was somehow better. He had managed to stop the cut on his forehead from bleeding, but his leg wasn't getting any better. Boomer was still able to fly properly, but his upper side hurt every time he moved, because of the many burns and bruises he had.

After searching for some time, Butch had collapsed due to blood loss and Brick decided that it was wiser to go treat their wounds before continuing their search. Boomer had to carry his brunette brother who, despite not being unconscious, didn't have enough energy left to even complain about being helped to move around. The red head also had difficulty flying. He suspected that his leg was broken, but whether that was true or not, he knew one thing: it hurt like hell. However, he refused to ask for help from his blue eyed brother, since he knew that Boomer, too, was hurt and even if his wounds weren't as bad as his and Butch's, he was still in pain.

The Red Ruff had no idea how they managed to reach the Power Puff Girls' house. He wasn't even sure why they went there… The girls were gone and he had no idea what to tell the Professor. He was worried that the man would kick them out when he would find out that they had survived and his daughters hadn't.

But he had thought wrong. The Professor had been waiting for them, apparently with the whole medical area of the lab ready for anything. He had been taken aback when he had seen them, though the red head was not sure if it was because of the state they were in or because the girls were not with them. He was pretty sure it was both. He had seen well intentioned worry in the dark eyes. The man had been worried for their well being and had immediately taken the Green Ruff in his arms and brought him to the laboratory. But as he was running down the stairs he could see it in his eyes that he knew. He knew what had happened and he knew that his girls didn't make it. He was certain he had seen tears in his eyes as he placed his brother on the bed and started cleaning the blood from his wounds.

Boomer had helped his red headed brother walk to the lab. The broken leg was hurting him more than ever and he couldn't help but let a few groans of pain escape every now and then. Next to him, the blonde was crying. A few days ago he would've laughed at his brother, but at that moment he understood. In fact, he felt like crying too. A few tears had, in fact, escaped his eyes when he had seen Blossom's half burnt bow at the bottom of the crater and he had allowed himself to cry for a few moments during their search, when he felt overwhelmed by despair. But he had to hold back, at least for a little longer. He was the leader of the Rowdy Ruff Boys and he had to stay strong for his brothers. Plus, someone had to tell the Professor what had happened and none of the other boys were in any shape to do that.

Butch was half unconscious. The Professor kept working on his wound. For some reason, Brick knew that it was taking more than it normally should. At the price of a great effort and a lot of pain he changed his position so he could see the man's face. He was only half surprised when he saw tears in the adult's eyes. "He knows" the red head thought. Now it was not just a supposition, it was a certainty. He looked at the man's hands. They were quick and sure for a few seconds only to begin to shake a few minutes later and when the trembling could have seriously hurt the boy he was treating the professor stopped working. It was then that Red Ruff noticed that he was trying hard to hold back his tears. After he had managed to regain control, the man began working again, only to stop several seconds later, when a new wave of tears threatened to overwhelm him.

The boy felt bad for the man. He never knew what it was like to have a parent. He knew even fewer things about being a parent. But he had watched children and their parents in Townsville. The adults were very nice to the children and the children seemed very happy to be around them. He had seen mothers and fathers protecting their offspring without even stopping to think of the danger they were putting themselves into. He had to admit that at times he was jealous of those children who had someone to call "Mother" and "Father". Back then he hadn't been sure why. He was strong and he never thought that he would ever need anyone, so the thoughts he got when watching families made him angry and confused. Needing someone by your side meant that you were weak and he wasn't weak, not in the least.

He sighed and turned his head away. He looked around the lab, trying to find something to focus on, so he'd be able to calm down. His eyes landed on something that hadn't been there the last time he had been in the lab. The Professor must've brought it after they left. It was a framed photograph of him and The Power Puff Girls. The Professor was holding Bubbles with his right arm, Blossom was sitting on his left shoulder and Buttercup was floating above his right shoulder. They were all smiling.

Suddenly he felt a wave of sorrow wash over him and he put his hand over his mouth to suppress a sob that was threatening to escape his throat. A small noise did, however, escape, despite his efforts. The dark haired man stopped what he was doing and gave him a questioning look. Brick shook his head, trying to convince the Professor, and himself in the same time, that everything was alright. The man raised his brow at him but then gave him a comforting look that seemed to say "It will be alright". After that he returned to treating Butch's wounds.

The red head was somewhat confused. He blinked and felt something wet run down his cheek. He wiped it and realized that it was a tear. He looked at the Professor. He must have seen it in his eyes. That was why he looked at him like that. For some reason, that only made him feel worse.

Since his brothers and he came into the lives of the Power Puff Girls and their family, only bad things happened to them. Even after they decided to switch sides and fight with the girls things didn't improve. In fact, they only got worse. He sighted… the man should've hated them for all the problems they caused, not to mention coming back from a battle without his girls. But there he was, silently telling him that everything would be OK. He clenched his fist in frustration. He would've preferred the man being angry with them, even throwing them out. At least then, he would've been familiar with the feeling. But now he was very confused. The man had let then in with no questions, no yelling and no anger and was now taking care of them. He was even comforting them. The boy felt a pang of guilt in his heart.

He looked at Butch who was lying on the bed. He looked pretty uncomfortable with the Professor working on his open gash. Their eyes met. Brick could see that he was exhausted, but the Green Ruff had always been stubborn and now, for some reason, he just refused to let unconsciousness claim him. He gave his brother a reassuring smile and the brunette boy answered with one of his own, though a lot weaker.

Next, the Red Ruff turned his attention to his Blue brother. Boomer hadn't moved from the spot where he had collapsed after helping Brick down into the lab. The boy could see that the blonde was crying. Even so, he was very silent. He had brought his hand to his mouth to muffle his sobs and was staring into space with tears flowing freely on his cheeks.

The red head moved again, trying hard not to gasp in pain. His leg was still broken and it still hurt like Hell. He placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. The blonde looked at him. His eyes were red from crying. He tried to wipe away his tears as fast as possible, but the other boy lightly squeezed his shoulder, in a reassuring way. He looked at his leader with questioning eyes, but the Red Ruff only struggled. The blue eyed boy understood that his brother was there only to comfort him. He gave him a weak grin, which his brother returned.

It was pretty weird to be comforted by the red head. All his life Boomer had been told that any feeling which had even the slightest thing to do with sympathy was wrong and was for sissies. And he hated being called a sissy, even though his brothers did so, many times. It hurt him at first, but he had learnt to ignore it. He had been relieved when he found that he could show his softer side to someone (meaning Bubbles), but he had still been scared to do so in front of his brothers. He hated being laughed at and he was sure that was what the other boys would have done if they saw him acting nicely.

He lowered his eyes at the thought of his counterpart. She had been so sweet to him… and he hadn't been able to save her. At this he frowned and felt stinging in his eyes again. He was partially aware that his brother was still next to him, holding his shoulder. But it didn't feel like a restraint. Nothing in his brother's actions held anything critical. In fact, he felt like, for the first time in his life, the red head understood him. And he was glad.

A cough interrupted his thoughts. Both the red head and he looked at the black haired man.

"Well, Butch… I did everything I could. You'll have to rest for a while so it will heal properly. It's still going to hurt when you move around, but I can give you some painkillers for that." The man said and reached for a bottle of pills. He gave one to the brunette and the boy swallowed it.

"Thanks…" the Green Ruff said, in a rather uncharacteristic voice. He was really embarrassed that he had needed help.

The man seemed like he wanted to say something more, but he suddenly stopped and closed his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose as if he was trying to concentrate. He took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, like he was trying to calm himself. When he opened his eyes, the boys could see tears in them. The professor opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it again, his lips trembling.

Brick saw this and moved a little closer to the man, without letting go of Boomer's shoulder. But the man didn't let him say anything.

"I'm sorry boys. Would you mind if I left you alone for a few minutes?" the adult spoke in a rather high pitched tone. He tried to look as calm as possible, but all three of them cloud see the tears in his eyes. They understood that he was in a great amount of emotional pain.

"Sure" the red head spoke.

"Yeah" the blonde quietly said.

"No prob'" the brunette choked out.

The man nodded and left the lab. The three boys stared at the door that had closed behind him.

"He's really upset…" Butch said.

"Yeah…" the Blonde whispered. "Do you think he blames us… you know… for not bringing the girls back…" he continued, looking at his brothers. Butch looked down, now really knowing what to answer. Truth be told, he did believe that the man blamed them. While he was treating him, he could feel him stopping now and then and at some times he pushed him too hard and he had to hold his breath so he wouldn't gasp in pain.

"He doesn't blame us" the two boys heard their leader. Brick had his eyes on the closed door of the laboratory. "If he did, we wouldn't be here." He spoke again, this time looking at his brothers. They nodded, seeing the logic in what he just said.

"But then…" the Green Ruff started, but trailed off. He didn't know what to say. He just couldn't understand what the man was feeling. He had never been good with feelings or telling what people think or feel and he was frustrated that he couldn't find any good reasons for the Professor's actions.

He frowned and clenched his fist. He felt helpless. Never in his whole life had he ever felt as useless as he did now. The feeling stung his heart like a thousand pins. Out of reflex, he lifted his fist to try to punch the side of the bed in frustration. But he forgot about his wounded side and as soon as his hand left the mattress, it feel back. The pain made him let out a short cry, which attracted his brothers' concerned looks. He shook his head and gave them a reassuring look. They were silent for a few minutes.

"I don't know what's in the guy's head… but I know he doesn't blame us." The red head said.

"Shouldn't we tell him what happened?" the Blue Ruff asked.

"I think he already knows, Boomer." The red eyed boy whispered. "I don't know how, but he knows that they're gone."

"How could he know? He wasn't there." Butch said. There was a silence after that.

"What happened to them?" the blonde asked. His brothers looked at him. It was, indeed, a very good question. All they knew was that they were gone. They had searched everywhere, but they couldn't find anything that might tell them what had happened to the three girls.

"I don't know…" the green eyed boy said. "But… it must've been real' tough to take them out…" he trailed off. He looked at his leader for an answer. But the red head didn't have one and he only hung his dead, his long hair covering his face.

"I miss Bubbles." Boomer said, breaking the silence. The other too looked at him and sighed. They too missed their counterparts. They had no idea how they managed to get so close to the girls in such a short time. But, in one way or another, they did and now it hurt that they had lost them. None of them spoke after that.

They raised their heads when they heard the door of the lab open. They watched the Professor walk in. He looked calmer now. When reached the medical area, he looked at them like he was making sure they were still there. Then he turned to Butch.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked, with a concerned voice. The boy was a little taken aback by the tone, but answered nonetheless.

"Yeah… a lil' bit."

"That's good. The painkiller I gave you should be taking effect. But you will need to rest." The boy nodded.

Then the man turned to the other two.

"How's your leg?" he asked Brick.

"I think it's broken." The boy answered. The professor nodded and bent down. He rolled his pants up (or what was left of them anyway) and started to feel the bone. Brick gasped as he touched the place where it was broken.

"Hm…. I'll need radiography to see the exact damage. Until I get everything ready, you should lie down. It will be better for your leg and it won't hurt as much." The boy nodded and the man picked him up and placed him on a bed next to Butch's. After that he looked at Boomer.

"You seem to be in better shape" he told him and he seemed glad that at least one of the boys wasn't in so much pain. "I'll clean you up after I get your brother's radiography." Boomer nodded and attempted to get up, but the Professor had already picked him up and placed him too on one of the beds. "He's so nice…" the three boys thought.

The man brought the X-ray machine and took the pictures he needed. After less than an hour, he had finished treating the boys and they had to admit that they were feeling a lot better.

He took a seat across from them and looked at them with serious eyes.

"Now boys, I want to know what happened" he said in a soft yet serious voice. The three boys looked at each other. They weren't very sure what to answer.

"We're not really sure…." Brick began. "We couldn't find much. HIM's lair was just a big hole in the ground, like there had been an explosion there." He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "The girls were nowhere in sight..." his swallowed hard after saying this, fought back a sob and continued "we looked for them everywhere. Around the place, inside, we even went back to town and checked. But we couldn't find them." He stopped, feeling his voice cracking and tears stinging his eyes.

"All we managed to find are these…." Butch continued for his brother and held out the green piece of material, from Buttercup's dress. Boomer showed the blonde hairs and Brick took out the half burnt bow.

The Professor silently took the objects that the boys were holding out. He clutched them in his hands and kept his head low. The boys looked at him, then at each other, not knowing what to say.

"We're sorry…." Boomer's voice broke the silence. The Professor looked up at him. He had tears in his dark eyes. Even so, he smiled at the blonde boy, who reminded him so much of his little Bubbles.

"It's not your fault…" he said softly. The boys looked at him. He sighted and continued. "I was kind of expecting it anyway…" at this the boys gave him a confused look.

"You know boys… being the father of three super-powered little girls isn't exactly an easy task…" he smiled a sad smile. "But you learn to be prepared for everything. Every time they left to fight some monster I couldn't help but be scared for them. Every time they came back alive I was overjoyed. I learnt that they couldn't avoid the responsibility they had and the only thing I could do was to be happy for them and to support them in any way that I could. I know that sometimes I was kind of overprotective, but all I wanted was to know that they were safe. But then again, they were never safe… in a way, none of us are. Each time the hotline rang I feared for them and each time I saw them leaving I worried. I was always hoping for the best, but I was prepared for the worst." He took a deep breath and continued. "They were a gift. One that Heaven granted to a lonely man. But it came with a condition and that was to share them with the rest of the world. And I did, knowing that one day something bad might happen. Nevertheless, I let them go every time. And every time they came back alive was just another gift…" he trailed off. The boys looked down. They were ashamed, once again, that they were the ones to come back and not the girls.

"But this time, I knew that there was a very strong possibility that they wouldn't come back." The man's voice was soft and he seemed to be holding back sobs. "They knew this too…" at this the three boys looked up at him.

"What?" all three of them asked in the same time. They remembered the girls being very confident about the plan. They didn't seem to doubt their success even one bit.

"Yes… before she left, Blossom wrote a letter to me."

"A letter?" the Red Ruff asked, his eyes growing wide. If Blossom knew that she might not be coming back, why didn't she tell him?

"Yes. She left it in their room." The man answered and took out a small silvery notebook. The boys stared at it. The man opened it and read:

_Dear Professor,_

_I kne__w that you'd come up to our room after we were gone so I left this letter here for you to find it. There are many things that I haven't told you about this mission, mainly because there was no time to go into details. But I believe that you, above all others, must know._

_I will be__ honest with you Professor: I don't know if we're coming back. I know that we will be able to defeat HIM and stop his plans. I am certain of this. However, I can't say if my sisters and I will make it. Even though I'm sure that the crystal will be destroyed, I'm not sure what else our attack could do. _

_I know you worry Professor and I'm sorry for making you worry. If there is even the slightest chance to save you even a little bit of pain, I will take it. And I promise that I will do everything in my power to protect my sisters and to come back home safely. Nevertheless, I can't ignore the fact that I might not be able to do this and so I must tell you some things that I have kept from you and from all the others, which I know will help you in the future._

(**A/N:** Here Blossom wrote everything that Bellatrix told her about HIM's crystal and about Fubuki. She also wrote about her plan and how she reached her conclusions. It's way too much to write, so just pretend it's here. If you don't remember what it was all about, please re-read the chapters: "The crystal's story", "Clueless" and "The Plan". Thanks for understanding!)

_Please don't ask how I know all this. Just trust me that it is a reliable source. I trust it with my life and if the plan works and the crystal is destroyed it will only be more proof that what I have written is true._

_You need to know all this because I am certain that HIM is only the beginning and others that are looking for this "chosen one" will emerge, and they may even have, like HIM does, a piece of the ancient mirror. And I'm sure that the disappearance of the Power Puff Girls will not stop them from coming. You and the entire world will need to be ready for them. I am very sorry that this is all the help that I can give, but it is all I know. _

_I also have to apologize to the boys for hiding all this from them, but I thought that it would have been too much to handle for them, at least at that time. I know they wanted to help and I know that they would have done everything in their power to stop HIM, but over eagerness was not what we needed then. I know they wanted to be the ones who went to HIM's lair and knowing all this would have only made them want it more. But I am certain that we took the best course of action and no matter what, do not regret it. I was the best thing to do. I'm sorry, boys, for keeping all this from you and I want you to know that I trust you with my life._

_I pray that everyone will be alright. I will do my best so this mission will have the best results. But, as always, we must hope for the best, while being prepared for the worst. I love you Professor. No matter what, you need to know that my sisters and I will always love you and that you are the best father anyone can ask for. _

_We will do everything in our power to come back home safely._

_Love,_

_Blossom. _

The Professor stopped reading. The boys stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"So she did know more…" Brick thought to himself.

"Now boys…" the man started, looking at them with a small smile on his lips, even though there still was sorrow in his eyes. "… since the moment the girls brought you here, you have become a part of the family. And I would like to ask you to remain a part of it."

The boys looked at him with their mouths slightly open. Had the man just invited them to live with him? To be a part of his family?

"Are you serious?" the Red Ruff voiced the question that all of them were dying to ask.

"Yes, I am."

Somewhere else…

Purple eyes watched as the watery figure exited her realm. The girl sighed and hugged her body. "Finally, it's done…" she thought. She turned her head to look at the small river that showed her the world of the living. Another sigh of relief escaped her lips and she hung her head for a few seconds.

Then she raised her hand and the crystal forest disappeared. She lowered her arm and hugged her chest once again. She frowned and gritted her teeth as she let herself fall to her knees and bend forward slightly. A small gasp escaped her pale lips.

She held herself tighter and roughly bit her lower lip. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was breathing heavily. She started counting the seconds: 1, 2, 3… one minute, then two, then another. After five minutes a small whimper of pain escaped her throat, followed by another; when the third came she let go of her lip and gave a loud gasp. She held out an arm to support herself, as she felt herself losing her balance.

"Damn side-effects!" she cursed in her mind. The pain had begun in her chest, like a fire, and then spread through her body like flames spread through a dry forest. She smirked at the thought. A dry forest… withered… dead… just like her soul.

Suddenly, the pain seemed to increase and it hit her 10 times stronger than before. This time she screamed and she would have fallen if her arm hadn't been resting on the ground, keeping her in balance. She clutched her side with her free hand and released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She knew that sharp pain. And she cursed it in her mind.

She tried to rise to her feet, but found that she did not have enough strength to do it. She grunted and closed her eyes. A big crystal appeared under her frail body. She sat on it, nothing in her stance giving away the pain that she was feeling. She concentrated again, trying to call back her crystal forest, but she realized that she did not have the necessary energy. She let out a frustrated sigh and a small crystal grove appeared. She frowned seeing the pathetic stage that her powers had reached. "Damn side-effects" she cursed again.

She composed a calm appearance as she watched a tall figure entering her realm through a portal. It was obviously a man. He wore a white cloak, rimmed with gold. He also wore a hood that covered his head and most of his face.

The silver haired girl knitted her brows and glared daggers at the white figure. "You…" she hissed. The figure seemed unfazed by her bitter tone and even smiled.

"Now, now… There is no need to be rude." He said in a calm voice. "We haven't seen each other in a very long time and.." the spoke, but the girl cut him off.

"Not long enough, if you ask me."

The figure sighed, without being bothered by the girl's rudeness. He lifted his hood and looked at her, directly in the eye. Bellatrix continued to glare at him.

His features were young and attractive. He looked more like a boy than anything else. His complexion was rather pale, though there was nothing that could hint illness in it. His slightly spiky hair was a dark shade of blue and some of it fell on his face. His eyes had the color of metal, but without any of the coldness. In fact, his grey orbs were warm and held no resent towards the girl that had been so rude to him and was now giving him a death glare. A smile was still present on his lips.

"What do you want?" the purple eyed girl spat out, not impressed with the boy's appearance.

"I heard that you let Princess Kurayami down…" he began, again untouched by her tone or by her attitude towards him.

"And?" she raised a brow, though she knew what he was going to say next.

"I came to ask if you changed your mind about the offer I made, some years ago." He smiled at her.

"Why would I change my mind now?" she asked, again, knowing what the answer would be.

"Usually, when you leave one party, you turn to the other one." His soft tone made her sick.

"I was never one to go by the rules. Plus, I never said I was on anybody's side. I'm a mercenary. I provide services for a price. I just decided that the lil' Princess no longer had anything of interest for me." Her voice was cold and bitter.

Grey eyes looked at her with slight confusion. The coldness in the purple orbs intrigued him. "I do not understand you…" he truthfully spoke.

"And you never will" she interrupted him again, slightly lying backwards. Despite her collected exterior she was in pain and the fact that she had to keep the majestic appearance of her territory wasn't helping. She cursed him for coming in such a bad moment and she cursed herself for not having enough energy left to push him out of her realm.

"Maybe not…" he sighed.

A silence followed and his soft voice was the one to break it. "You certainly live up to your name Kirai…" she twitched at the use of her given name "… but you never cease to intrigue me. Even if, now, you refuse my offer, lately you have risked your very existence several times for the sake of a few children that you barely know. I have seen you leave your territory when the shadow demon called upon the greatest soldiers of the Demon world and I have seen you reaching out for them and saving their lives when the battles they carried drained them of their force. I know that every move you make out of this realm hurts you greatly and I know that the children have survived only because of your energy, the life force which you gave away. I can not help but wonder why…"

The girl did not answer. She continued to glare at him. He sighed.

"Kirai…" he began.

"Bellatrix" she said firmly. Grey met purple and they stared at each other for a few minutes, the girl not softening her glare and the boy keeping the warm look in his eyes. After a while he bowed his head slightly and smiled.

"Bellatrix…" he said, as if trying to hear how it sounded out of his mouth. "… I will ask you again…"

"And the answer will remain the same." Her voice cut him off. Nonetheless he continued.

"Will you join me?" he voiced his question.

"No." a simple word escaped her lips. But her tone told him it was final. Again he sighed.

"What happened to the three girls?" he changed the subject.

"It is none of your business." Her voice was cold and her tone sharp.

"Where are the Power Puff Girls?" he tried again.

"Out of your reach." She said. "Out of everybody's reach." she completed. He gave her a questioning look.

"What did you do to them?"

"Again, it is none of your business." She answered coldly.

"You will not give me any information, will you?" he smiled at her.

"No."

"The boys are still alive." He said

"Yes" she absently spoke.

"Do they know anything?" he asked.

"No."

"You keep your secrets under lock and key…" he spoke and she gave a slight nod. She was getting tired of the conversation and she was wasting energy on the crystal grove; energy that she could not afford to waste.

"I hope you will not mind if I take them under my protection." He spoke. The girl narrowed her eyes. "Well…. The Ruffs will need someone to teach them… and it's not like I can stay to babysit them." She thought.

"Try to act wisely…" she told him. He nodded his head. Then he turned around, as if he was preparing to leave. The girl let out an inaudible sigh of relief. But in the next moment he turned his eyes back to her.

"Where does your faith lie, Kirai?" he asked.

The silver haired girl glared at him, furious at the sound of her name being spoken again.

"My faith, as well as my loyalty, lie exactly where they should be! And that is far away from you! And from the Princess!" the girl clenched her fists tightly, trying hard not to scream at him. The boy was slightly taken aback by her outburst. He considered trying to convince her to accept his offer again, but decided against it. And judging by the answers he had already received, any further inquiry regarding her actions, her plans or the Power Puff Girls would only fail. He looked at her. Her furrowed brows and narrowed eyes told him nothing. He had to admit defeat, at least this time.

"Very well…" he spoke. "Good Bye, child. I will take good care of the three boys." He said as his figure disappeared inside a portal leading outside her realm.

The girl growled at the place where he had once been standing. She dropped her mask almost immediately after that. The crystal grove withered and disappeared in only a few seconds. The crystal which had been supporting her also vanished and her body hit the ground with a silent thud and a sharp gasp which escaped her lips.

The pain was now unbearable. She tried to hug her chest once again, but found that she was incapable of moving. Her body felt like it was burning and freezing in the same time. She shut her eyes tightly and let out a pained whimper. Even the slight movement of her chest while breathing was hurting her and soft cries escaped her lips with every breath she took.

She had hoped it would never come to this. She had done everything she could think of to avoid it, but ultimately she had failed. A strangled scream escaped her throat as she felt like her chest was being opened with the help of hot metal. She could feel her life force dripping away little by little. Her lips opened once more, but no sound came out.

The small body was now slowly dissolving and she could feel each piece leave the whole like it was violently torn. As she felt her strength leaving her, the image of three little girls popped into her mind. "You're on your own" she thought and if the action wouldn't have hurt so much, she would have smiled.

As her body continued to dissolve into the black void, one thought crossed her mind: "Damn side-effects" she cursed for the third time before she let herself be taken by unconsciousness.

* * *

And that is the end of the story "On the right side". No joke. It's not the end of the story as a whole, just this story. There's going to be a sequel. 

But since I've been absent for such a long time, I first have some catching up to do. 'Cause I haven't been absent just from the writing, but from the reading as well. And I can't wait to see what awesome stories have been published while I was gone.

Plus, I have some really good friends here that have been ignored for far too long! And before I do anything else, I'll make it up to them.

Again, I'd like to thank all my reviewers, not just the ones that reviewed the last chapter, but all the people that reviewed this story. Thanks guys! It really means a lot to me!

I honestly hope that you enjoyed the story and that you'll check out the sequel when it'll be up.

Sorry for any grammar errors I made... and see you in the sequel!


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